LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap. Copyright ]S T o. 

Shelt..._B £5 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE MORNING WATCH. 



Frontispiece. 



REV. ANDREW MURRAY. 



THE MORNING WATCH 



2nj0ttgf)t!3 for tfje ©met ^out 



Selections for 
Every Day in the Year 



COMPILED AND ARRANGED 



BELLE M.' BRAIN 



" Some suggestive word out of this book will fall upon 
a score of lives some morning, and will touch the key of 
each. Each will be better for it, but how differently ! One 
will do better trading; another will do better teaching; 
another's household life will be pure and lofty." — Phillips 
Brooks. 



/ 



UNITED SOCIETY 
OF CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR 
BOSTON CHICAGO 

L 'tWOC0P 





Copyright, 189 J 

BY THE 

United Society of Christian Endeavor 



(Eokmtal \$xm: 

Printed and Electrotyped by C. H. Simonds & Cc. 
Boston, Mass., U.S.A. 



TO THE MEMORY OF THE 

&eb, miexante ^routiftt, 

MY BELOVED FRIEND AND PASTOR, WHOSE HEAVENLY 
LIFE ON EARTH WAS AN INSPIRATION AND A BENE- 
DICTION TO ALL WHO CAME WITHIN THE SPHERE 
OF HIS HALLOWED INFLUENCE, THIS VOL- 
UME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 

Springfield, Ohio, Oct. 17, 1897. BELLE M. BRAIN. 



" Wherever we saw him walking, we knew he was walk- 
ing with God." 

" He had all the qualities of a manly man, and these were 
crowned and beautified by a personal friendship with the 
man Christ Jesus." 

" A man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost." 

" His strength was as the strength of ten, because his 
heart was pure." 



The compiler desires to make grateful acknowl- 
edgment of the kindness and courtesy of the follow- 
ing authors and publishers in granting the use of 
valuable copyrighted material : — 

The Baker and Taylor Company, The American 
Tract Society, Dr. J. R. Miller, Thomas Y. Crowell 
& Co., Peter Carter, Presbyterian Board of Publica- 
tion and Sabbath School Work, Dr. F. E. Clark, 
Congregational Sunday School and Publishing So- 
ciety, The Lothrop Publishing Company, Northfield 
Echoes, The Ladies^ Home Journal, E. B. Treat 
& Co., The American Baptist Publication Society, 
The American Publishers' Corporation, and The 
Sunday School Times. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

The Quiet Hour xi 

Begin with God — Horatius Bonar . xii 

Morning Consecration — Henry Vaughan xiii 

January with Andrew Murray . . i 

February with Francis E. Clark . . 33 

March with Frances Ridley Havergal. 65 

April with Charles H addon Spurgeon . 101 

May with Frederick Brotherton Meyer 133 

June with Adoniram Judson Gordon . 167 
July with Nineteenth Century Servants 

of God 199 

August with J. R. Miller .... 233 

September with Dwight L. Moody . . 267 

October with Henry Drummond . . 299 

November with Old-time Saints . . 333 

December with Theodore L. Cuyler . 365 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



v Rev. Andrew Murray 
v Rev. Francis E. Clark 

V Frances Ridley Havergal 
' Rev. C. H. Spurgeon . . 

'f Rev. F. B. Meyer 

v Rev. A. J. Gordon 

^ Rev. Alexander Proudfit 

V Rev. J. R. Miller 

V Dwight L. Moody 

V Henry Drummond 

V William Carey 

y Rev. T. L. Cuyler 



PAGE 

Frontispiece 
33 
65 
1 01 

13-3 
167 
199 

233 
267 
299 
333 
365 



THE QUIET HOUR, 



Our Masters Invitation. — " Come ye yourselves 
apart." 

Our Masters Command. — " When thou prayest, 
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy 
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret." 

Our Masters Example. — " And in the morning, 
rising up a great while before day, he went out, and 
departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." 

Our Masters Promises. — " Lo, I am with you al- 
way." " And thy Father which seeth in secret shall 
reward thee openly." 

The Servanfs Response. — " O God, thou art my 
God ; early will I seek thee ; my soul thirsteth for 
thee." " My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, 
O Lord ; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto 
thee, and will look up." 



BEGIN WITH GOD. 



Begin the day with God ! 

He is thy sun and day ; 
His is the radiance of thy dawn ; 

To him address thy lay. 

Sing a new song at morn ! 

Join the glad woods and hills ; 
Join the fresh winds and seas and plains, 

Join the bright flowers and rills. 

Sing thy first song to God ! 

Not to thy fellow man ; 
Not to the creatures of his hand, 

But to the Glorious One. 



Take thy first walk with God ! 

Let him go forth with thee ; 
By stream, or sea, or mountain-path, 

Seek still his company. 

Let thy first transaction be 

With God himself above. 
So shall thy business prosper well, 

And all the day be love. 

HORATIUS BONAR. 



MORNING CONSECRATION 



When first thine eies unveil, give thy soul leave 
To do the like ; our bodies but forerun 

The spirit's duty. True hearts spread and heave 
Unto their God, as flowers do to the sun. 

Give him thy first thoughts, then ; so shalt thou keep 
Him company all day, and in him sleep. 

Yet never sleep the sun up. Prayer should 

Dawn with the day. There are set awful hours 

'Twixt Heaven and us. The manna was not good 
After sunrising; far day sullies flowres. 

Rise to prevent the sun ; sleep doth sins glut, 

And heaven's gate opens when this world's is shut. 

Walk with thy fellow creatures : note the hush 
And whisperings amongst them. Not a spring 

Or leafe but hath his morning hymn. Each bush 
And oak doth know I Am. Canst thou not sing ? 

O leave thy cares and follies ! Go this way, 
And thou art sure to prosper all the day. 

Serve God before the world ; let him not go 
Until thou hast a blessing ; then resigne 

The whole unto him ; and remember who 
Prevailed by wrestling ere the sun did shine. 

Pour oyle upon the stones ; weep for thy sin ; 
Then journey on and have an eie to heaven. 

Mornings are mysteries ; the first world's youth, 
Man's resurrection, and the future's bud 

Shrowd in their births : the crown of life, light, truth, 
Is stiled their starre, the store, the hidden food. 

Three blessings wait upon them, one of wnich 
Should move : they make us holy, happy, rich. 

When the world's up, and every swarm abroad, 
Keep thou thy temper ; mix not with each clay ; 

Despatch necessities ; life hath a load 

Which must be carried on, and safely may. 

Yet keep those cares without thee ; let the heart 
Be God's alone, and choose the better part. 

Henry Vaughan (1621-1695). 



JANUARY 

WITH 

ANDREW MURRAY. 



Murray. 



JANUARY I. 



We would see Jesus. — John 12: 21. The 
spirit . . . shall take of mine, and shall show 
it unto you. — John 16 : 15. 

A New Year's flessage. 

IN the first week of last year, I received from 
my beloved colleague as a New Year's text, 
with the wish that it might be my experience, the 
words : " Jesus taketh with him Peter and James 
and John, and bringeth them into a high mountain, 
apart by themselves, and he was transfigured be- 
fore them." I pass the words on to my readers. 
May the blessed Master take us with himself into 
the high mountain, new Mount Sion, where he 
sits as Priest-King upon the throne in power, 
each of us apart by himself, and prepare us for the 
blessed vision of seeing him transfigured before 
us. He will then be to us the same Jesus we 
know now. And yet not the same, but his 
whole being bright with the glory and the power 
of the heavenly life he holds for us, and waits to 
impart day by day to them that forsake all to fol- 
low him. 

In humble trust and prayer that it may be so, 
I recommend all my readers to his blessed teach- 
ing and guidance. — " The Holiest of All." 

" Precious, gentle, holy Jesus, 

Blessed Bridegroom of my heart, 
In thy secret, inner chamber, 

Thou will show me what thou arty 



JANUARY 2. 



Murray. 



And this is life eternal, that they might know 
thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom 
thou hast sent. — John iy : 3. 

Knowing Jesus. 

OUR one need is, to know Jesus better. The 
knowledge of the heavenly character of 
Christ's person and work is what alone can 
make heavenly Christians, who, amid all the diffi- 
culties and temptations of life on earth, can live 
as those whom the superior power of the upper 
world has possessed, and in whom it can always 
give the victory. . . . Let us not be so selfish 
and mean as to be content with the hope that 
Jesus saves us, while we are careless of having 
intimate personal acquaintance with him. . . . 
Let us seek to know aright this blessed Son 
whom the Father has given us. Let us turn 
away from earth, let us gaze and meditate and 
worship, until he who is the outshining of the 
divine glory shines into our very heart. . . . O, 
let it be the great work of your life and the great 
longing of your heart to know Jesus ; as a hum- 
ble, meek disciple to bow at his feet and let him 
teach you of God and eternal life. Yes, even 
now, let us bow before him in the fourfold glory 
in which the Word has set him before us. He is 
the heir of all that God has. He is its creator. 
He is the upholder, too. He is the outshining 
of God's glory, and the perfect image of his 
substance. O my Saviour, anything to know 
thee better, and in thee to have my God speak 
to me! — "The Holiest of All." 



Murray. 



JANUARY 3. 



When thou prayest, enter into thine inner 
chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy 
Father which is in secret. — Matt. 6 : 6. 

Alone with God. 

THE first thing that the Lord teaches his dis- 
ciples is, that they must have a secret place 
for prayer; every one must have some solitary 
spot where he can be alone with his God. . . . 
He wants each one to choose for himself the 
fixed spot where he can daily meet him. That 
inner chamber, that solitary spot, is Jesus' school- 
room. That spot may be anywhere ; that spot 
may change from day to day, if we have to 
change our abode ; but that secret place there 
must be, with the quiet time in which the pupil 
places himself in the Master's presence, to be by 
him prepared to worship the Father. . . . To the 
man who withdraws himself from all that is of 
the world and man, and prepares to wait upon 
God alone, the Father will reveal himself. As 
he forsakes and gives up and shuts out the world, 
and surrenders himself to be led into the secret 
of God's presence, the light of the Father's love 
will rise upon him. . . . When you go to private 
prayer, your first thought must be, " The Father 
is in secret, the Father waits me there.". . . 
Just place yourself before him, and look up into 
his face ; think of his wonderful, tender, pitying 
love. ... O do what Jesus says : just shut the 
door and pray to thy Father, which is in secret. 
Is it not wonderful to be able to go alone with 
God, with the infinite God ? And then to look 
up and say, " My Father ! " — " With Christ 
in the School of Prayer." 

3 



JANUARY 4. 



Murray. 



Be silent to the Lord, and wait patiently for 
him. — Ps. 37 : 7 (margin). 

Stillness of Soul. 

IT is a soul silent unto God that is the best 
preparation for knowing Jesus, and for hold- 
ing fast the blessings he bestows. It is when 
the soul is hushed in silent awe and worship 
before the holy Presence that reveals itself with- 
in, that the still small voice of the blessed Spirit 
will be heard. . . . How slow many are to learn 
that quietness is blessedness, that quietness is 
strength, that quietness is the source of the high- 
est activity — the secret of all true abiding in 
Christ ! . . . Blessed is the man who learns the 
lesson of stillness, and fully accepts God's word, 
"In quietness and confidence shall be your 
strength." Each time he listens to the word of 
the Father, or asks the Father to listen to his 
words, he dares not begin his Bible-reading or 
prayer without first pausing and waiting, until the 
soul be hushed in the presence of the eternal 
Majesty. . . . He is still, and waits in holy 
silence, till all is calm and ready to receive the 
revelation of the divine will and presence. His 
reading and prayer then indeed become a waiting 
on God with ear and heart opened and purged to 
receive fully only what he says. 

" Abide in Christ ! " Let no one think that 
he can do this if he has not daily his quiet time, 
his seasons of meditation and waiting on God. 
. . . May each one of us learn every day to say, 
"Truly my soul is silent unto God." — "Abide 
in Christ." 



4 



Murray. 



JANUARY 5. 



Behold, I stand at the door, and knock ; if 
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I 
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and 
he with me. — Rev. 3 : 20. 

Fellowship with Jesus. 

DO let me try and impress this upon you: 
God has given you a loving, living Saviour, 
and how can he bless you, if you do not meet him ? 
The joy of friendship is found in intercourse ; 
and Jesus asks for this every day, that he may 
have time to influence me, to tell me of himself, 
to teach me, to breathe his spirit into me, to give 
me new life and joy and strength. And remem- 
ber, intercourse with Jesus does not mean half an 
hour or an hour in the closet. A man may study 
his Bible or his commentary carefully ; he may 
look up all the parallel passages in the chapter; 
and when he comes out of his closet he may be 
able to tell you all about it, and yet he has never 
met Jesus that morning at all. You have prayed 
for five or ten minutes, and you have never met 
Jesus. And so we must remember that, though 
the Bible is most precious, and the reading of it 
most blessed and needful, yet prayer and Bible- 
reading are not fellowship with Jesus. What we 
need every morning is to meet Jesus, and to say, 
" Lord, here is the day again ... do thou come 
and feed me this morning with thyself and speak 
to my soul." Wait in his presence, however cold 
and faithless you may feel. — " Jesus Himself." 



5 



JANUARY 6. 



Murray. 



Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves 
together, as the manner of some is. — Heb. io : 
2 5- 

The Importance of Public Worship. 

THE assembling of God's saints has its 
ground in a divine appointment, as well 
as in the very nature of things; all who have 
entered into the holiest to meet their God must 
turn to the meeting of his people. Among the 
Hebrews it was already the custom with some to 
forsake the assembling together ; it was one of 
the dangerous symptoms of backsliding. They 
are reminded, not only of the personal duty of 
each to be faithful, but also to care for others, 
and to exhort one another. For exercising and 
strengthening of faith and hope and love, for the 
full development of the life in the holiest of all, 
for the helping and comforting of all who are 
feeble, for the cultivation and the fellowship of 
the Spirit and the Word, the assembling of our- 
selves together has unspeakable value. . . . Meet- 
ing God is a thing of infinite blessedness and 
peace and power. Meeting our fellow men is 
often accompanied with so much of distraction 
and failure that some have thought it better in- 
deed to forsake the assembling together. . . . 
Listen to the exhortation, " Not forsaking the 

ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES TOGETHER." . . . God 

is willing so to bless the fellowship of his re- 
deemed that the assembly shall be crowned with 
a fuller sense of his love and presence than can 
ever be found in solitary approach to him. — 
" The Holiest of All." 



o 



Murray. 



JANUARY 7. 



Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end 
of the world. — Matt. 28 : 20. 



The Presence of the Lord Jesus. 

XT , T HEN he was upon earth, he was present 
V V m bodily form with his disciples. They 
walked about together all day, and at night they 
went into the same house, and sometimes slept 
together and ate and drank together. They were 
continually together. It was the presence of 
Jesus that was the training-school of his disciples. 
They were bound to him by that wonderful inter- 
course of love during three long years, and in 
that intercourse they learned to know Christ, and 
Christ instructed and corrected them, and pre- 
pared them for what they were afterward to re- 
ceive. And now, when he is going away, he says 
to them : " Lo, behold, I am with you alway — 
all the days — even unto the end of the world." 

What a promise! And just as really as Christ 
was with Peter in the boat, just as Christ sat with 
John at the table, as really can I have Christ 
with me. And more really, for they had their 
Christ in the body, and he was to them a man, an 
individual separate from them ; but I may have 
the glorified Christ in the power of the throne 
of God, the omnipotent Christ, the omnipresent 
Christ. — " Jesus Himself." 



7 



JANUARY 8. 



Murray. 



I the Lord do keep it ; I will water it every 
moment : lest any hurt it, I will keep it night 
and day. — Isa. 27 : 3. 

Abiding in Christ Every Moment. 

IS a life of unbroken fellowship with the Son 
of God attainable in this earthly life ? Truly 
not if the abiding is to be done in our strength. 
But if the Lord himself will keep the soul night 
and day, yea, will watch and water it every mo- 
ment, then surely the uninterrupted communion 
with Jesus becomes a blessed possibility to those 
who can trust God to mean and do what he says. 
. . . It is said that our limited powers prevent 
our being occupied with two things at the same 
moment. God's providence places many Chris- 
tians in business, where, for hours at a time, the 
closest attention is required to the work they 
have to do. How can such a man, it is asked, 
with his whole mind in his work, be at the same 
time occupied with Christ, and keeping up fellow- 
ship with him ? . . . Think of a father separated 
for a time from home that he may secure for 
his loved ones what they need. He loves his 
wife and children, and longs to return to them. 
There may be hours of intense occupation, when 
he has not a moment to think of them, and yet 
his love is as real and as deep as when he can 
call up their images. ... So everlasting Love 
may take and keep possession of our spirits, that 
we shall never for a moment lose the secret 
consciousness, We are in Christ, kept in him by 
his almighty power. — " Abide in Christ." 



S 



Murray. 



JANUARY 9. 



And the people shall go out and gather the 
portion of a day in his day. — Exod. 16:4 (mar- 
gin). Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 
— Matt. 6 : 34. 

Day by Day. 

A DOCTOR was once asked by a patient 
who had met with a serious accident, 
" Doctor, how long shall I have to lie here ? " 
The answer, " Only a day at a time," taught the 
patient a precious lesson. It was the same lesson 
God had recorded for his people of all ages, long 
before : The day's portion in its day. 

If time had been given to man in the form of 
one long, unbroken day, it would have exhausted 
and overwhelmed him. Broken small, and divided 
into fragments, he can bear it ; only the care and 
the work of each day have to be undertaken. 
He has only to be faithful for one short day, and 
long years take care of themselves. 

The day's portion for its day was given to 
Israel in the morning very early. . . . This sug- 
gests how greatly the power to spend a day aright, 
to abide all the day in Jesus, depends on the morn- 
ing hour. ... It is only when the believer in the 
morning secures his quiet time in secret to renew 
loving fellowship with his Saviour, that the abiding 
can be kept up all day. . . . Christ is his manna : 
he can take the day's portion for the day, Christ 
as his for all the needs the day may bring, and 
go forth in the assurance that the day will be 
one of blessing and of growth. — " Abide in 
Christ." 



JANUARY 10. 



Murray. 



To-day, if ye shall hear his voice, harden not 
your hearts. — Heb. 3 : 7, 8. 

To=day. 

SATAN'S word is ever " To-morrow" ; man's 
favorite word, too, is " To-morrow." Even 
with the child of God the word of unbelief is too 
often " To-morrow " ; God's demand is too great 
for to-day, God's promise too high; we hope it 
will come easier later on. The Holy Ghost 
saith, To-day . . . To-day ! it is a word of 
wonderful promise. It tells that, to-day, this 
very moment, the wondrous love of God is for 
thee — it is even now waiting to be poured into 
thy heart ; that to-day all that Christ has done 
. . . and is able to do within thee — this very 
day, it is within thy reach. . . . To-day the 
Holy Ghost is within thee, sufficient for every 
need, equal to every emergency. . . . To-day ! it 
is a word of earnest warning. . . . The believer 
who answers the " To-day " of the Holy Ghost 
with the " To-morrow " of some more convenient 
season, knows not how he is hardening his heart ; 
the delay, instead of making the surrender and 
obedience and faith easy, makes it more difficult. 
It closes the heart for to-day against the Com- 
forter, and cuts off all hope and power of growth. 
When you hear his voice, open the heart in great 
tenderness to listen and obey. . . . Just yester- 
day I heard a servant of God testify that at his 
conversion he was told to say, " I am going to 
do the will of God to-day, without thinking of to- 
morrow ; " and he had found the unspeakable 
blessing of it. — " The Holiest of All." 



10 



Murray. 



JANUARY II. 



And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit re- 
turned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into 
the wilderness. — Luke 4:1. Be filled with the 
Spirit. — Eph. 5 : 18. For as many as are led by 
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. — 
Rom. 8 : 14. 



VEN as Jesus was filled with the Spirit, 



\ j and then led by the Spirit, so must we also 
be filled with the Spirit and be led by the Spirit. 
. . . Men have had mistaken thoughts about 
being filled with the Spirit. It was thought to be 
the privilege of a few, and not the calling and 
duty of every child of God. It was not sufficiently 
realized that " Be ye filled with the Spirit " is a 
command to every Christian. . . . Nothing less 
than the fulness of the Spirit is absolutely 
necessary to truly Christian, Christ-like life. . . . 
The way to arrive at it is very simple. It is 
Jesus who baptizes with the Spirit : he who 
comes to him desiring it will get it. All that he 
requires of us is the surrender of faith to receive 
what he gives. . . . Remember that the fulness of 
the Spirit is yours in Jesus, a ?-eal gift, even when 
there is not such feeling as you could wish. 
Seek fellowship with God's children, who will 
plead with thee for the baptism of the Spirit; 
the disciples received the Spirit, not singly, but 
when they were with one accord in one place. 
Band thyself with God's children around thee to 
work for souls ; the Spirit is the power from on 
high to fit for that work. — " Like Christ." 



Led by the Spirit. 




11 



JANUARY 12. 



Murray. 



If ye then, being evil, know how to give good 
gifts unto your children, how much more shall 
the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them 
that ask Him ? — Luke i i : 13. 

The Gift of the Holy Spirit. 

OMY Father, I come to thee with this 
prayer; there is nothing I would desire so 
much as to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The bless- 
ings he brings are so unspeakable and just what I 
need. He sheds abroad thy love in the heart, and 
fills it with thyself. I long for this. He breathes 
the mind and life of Christ in me, so that I live 
as he did, in and for the Father's love. I long for 
this. He endues with power from on high for all 
my walk and work. I long for this. O Father, 
I beseech thee, give me this day the fulness of 
thy Spirit. 

Father, I ask this, resting on the words of my 
Lord : " How much more the Holy Spirit." I 
do believe that thou nearest my prayer; I re- 
ceive now what I ask ; Father, I claim and take 
it, the fulness of thy Spirit as mine. I receive 
the gift this day again as a faith gift ; in faith I 
reckon my Father works through the Spirit all 
he has promised. The Father delights to breathe 
his Spirit into his waiting child as he tarries in 
fellowship with himself. The gift above all gifts 
which thou wouldst bestow in answer to prayer 
is the Holy Spirit. Amen. — "With Christ in 
the School of Prayer/' 



Murray. 



JANUARY 13. 



Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 
— Matt. 4 : 4. 

The Word of God. 

THE Lord Jesus was himself the living 
Word. He had the Spirit without meas- 
ure. If ever any one, he could have done with- 
out the written word. And yet we see that it 
was everything to him. He had his whole mind 
and heart so filled with it, that the Holy Spirit 
could at each moment find within him, all ready 
for use, the right word to suggest just as he 
needed it. 

Child of God, would you become a man of 
God, strong in faith, full of blessing, rich in 
fruit to the glory of God, be full of the Word of 
God. Like Christ, make the Word your bread. 
Let it dwell richly in you. Have your heart full 
of it. Feed on it. Believe it. Obey it. Take 
it day by day as the word that proceedeth, not 
has proceeded, out of the mouth of God, who in 
it holds living fellowship with his children, and 
speaks to them in living power. Take your 
thoughts of God's will, and God's work, and 
God's purpose with you and with the world, not 
from the church, not from the Christians around 
you, but from the Word taught you by the 
Father, and like Christ you will be able to ful- 
fil all that is written in the Scripture concerning 
you. — " Like Christ." 



*3 



JANUARY 14. 



Murray. 



The seed is the word of God. — Luke 8:11. 

The Divine Seed. 

THE Word of God is the seed of the divine 
life. We know what seed is. It is that 
wonderful organism in which the life, the invis- 
ible essence of a tree or plant, is so concentrated 
and embodied that it can be taken away and 
made available to impart the life of the tree else- 
where. This use may be twofold. As fruit we 
eat it, for instance, in the corn that gives us 
bread ; and the life of the plant becomes our 
nourishment and our life. Or we sow it, and the 
life of the plant reproduces and multiplies itself. 
In both aspects the Word of God is seed. . . . 
The life, the thoughts, the sentiments, the power, 
of God are embodied in his words. And it is 
only through his Word that the life of God can 
really enter into us. His Word is the seed of the 
heavenly life. As the bread of life we eat it, we 
feed upon it. In eating our daily bread the body 
takes in the nourishment which visible nature, 
the sun and the earth, prepared for us in the 
seed-corn. It becomes part of ourselves, it is our 
life. 

Or we use the seed to plant. The words of 
God are sown in our heart. They have a divine 
power of reproduction and multiplication. The 
very life that is in them, the divine thought or 
disposition or power that each of them contains, 
takes root in the believing heart and grows up ; 
and the very thing of which the Word was the 
expression, is produced within us. — " Like 
Christ." 



14 



Murray. 



JANUARY 15. 



And in the morning, rising up a great while 
before day, he went out, and departed into a 
solitary place, and there prayed. — Mark i : 35. 

Christ Our Example in Prayer. 

MY Saviour could not maintain the heavenly 
life in his soul without continually separ- 
ating himself from man, and communing with 
his Father. With the heavenly life in me, it is 
no otherwise ; it has the same need of entire 
separation from man, not only of single mo- 
ments, but of time enough for intercourse with 
the Fountain of life. . . . O my brother, if thou 
and I would be like Jesus, we must especially 
contemplate Jesus praying alone in the wilder- 
ness. There is the secret of his wonderful life. 
What he did and spoke to man, was first spoken 
and lived through with the Father. In commun- 
ion with him the anointing of the Holy Spirit 
was each day renewed. He who would be like 
him in his walk and conversation, must simply 
begin here, that he follow Jesus into solitude. 
Even though it cost the sacrifice of night rest, of 
business, of intercourse with friends, the time must 
be found to be alone with the Father. Besides the 
ordinary hour of prayer, he will at times feel ir- 
resistibly drawn to enter the holy place, and not 
come thence until it has been anew revealed to 
him that God is his portion. In his secret 
chamber, with closed door, or in the solitude of 
the wilderness, God must be found every day, 
and our fellowship with him renewed. Christlike 
praying in secret will be the secret of Christlike 
living in public. — " Like Christ." 



5 



JANUARY 16. 



Murray. 



Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his 
righteousness : and all these things shall be added 
unto you. — Matt. 6 : 33. 

The Model Prayer. 

OUR heavenly Teacher has given us a form 
of prayer so simple that even the child can 
lisp it, so divinely rich that it comprehends all 
that God can give. 

" Our Father which art in heaven." Remem- 
ber that none of the saints in Scripture had ever 
ventured to address God as their Father. 

Thy name, thy kingdom, thy will. While we 
ordinarily bring first our own needs to God in 
prayer, and then think of what belongs to God 
and his interests, .the Master reverses the order. 
The lesson is of more importance than we think. 
In true worship the Father must be first, must be 
all. The Father is a King and has a kingdom. 
The son and heir of a king has no higher am- 
bition than the glory of his father's kingdom. 
. . . Give us, forgive us, lead us, deliver us. 
Our daily bread, the pardon of our sins, our 
being kept from all sin and the power of the 
evil one, — in these three petitions all our per- 
sonal need is comprehended. . . . When the 
child has yielded himself to the Father in the 
care for his name, his kingdom, and his will, 
he has full liberty to ask for his daily bread. 
Consecration to God gives wonderful liberty in 
prayer for temporal things. . . . Let us beware 
of the prayer for forgiveness becoming a formal- 
ity ; only what is really confessed is forgiven. — 
"With Christ in the School of Prayer." 



16 



Murray. 



JANUARY 17. 



What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? — 
Luke 18 : 41. 



Definite Prayer. 

DEFINITE prayer teaches us to know our 
own needs better. ... It helps us to 
wait for the special answer, and to mark it when 
it comes. And yet, how much of our prayer is 
vague and pointless ! Some cry for mercy, but 
take not the trouble to know what mercy must do 
for them. Others ask to be delivered of sin, but 
do not begin by bringing any sin by name, from 
which deliverance may be claimed. Still others 
pray for God's blessing on those around them, 
for the outpouring of God's Spirit on their land 
or the world, and yet have no special field where 
they wait and expect to see the answer. To all 
the Lord says, " And what is it now you really 
want and expect me to do ? " 

Every Christian has but limited powers, and as 
he must have his own special field of labor in 
which he works, so with his prayers, too. Each 
believer has his own circle, his family, his friends, 
his neighbors. If he were to take one or more 
of these by name, he would find that this really 
brings him into the training-school of faith. 
When in such distinct matters we have in faith 
claimed and received answers, our more general 
prayers will be believing and effectual. — " With 
Christ in the School of Prayer." 



17 



JANUARY 1 8. 



Murray. 



Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye 
sJmll find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
you : for every one that asketh receiveth ; and he 
that seeketh ftndeth ; and to him that knocketh 
it shall be opened. — Matt. 7:7,8. Ye ask, and 
receive not, because ye ask amiss. — Jas. 4 : 3. 

Asking and Receiving. 

OLORD JESUS, teach me to understand 
and believe what thou hast now prom- 
ised me. It is not hid from thee, O my Lord, 
with what reasonings my heart seeks to satisfy 
itself when no answer comes. There is the 
thought that my prayer is not in harmony with 
the Father's secret counsel ; that there is perhaps 
something better thou wouldst give me ; or that 
prayer, as fellowship with God, is blessing enough 
without an answer. And yet, my blessed Lord, I 
find in thy teaching in prayer that thou didst not 
speak of these things, but didst say so plainly, 
that prayer may and must expect an answer. 
Thou dost assure us that this is the fellowship 
of the child with the Father : the child asks and 
the Father gives. 

Blessed Lord, thy words are faithful and 
true. It must be because I pray amiss, that my 
experience of answered prayer is not clearer. It 
must be because I live too little in the Spirit, 
that the power for the prayer of faith is wanting. 

Lord, teach me to pray. Lord Jesus, I trust 
thee for it. Teach me this lesson of to-day : 
Every one that asketh, receiveth. Amen. — 
"With Christ in the School of Prayer." 



18 



Murray. 



JANUARY 19. 



Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that 
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the 
Son. — John 14 : 13. 

Ask All to the Glory of God. 

THIS word of Jesus comes indeed as a sharp, 
two-edged sword, piercing even to the divid- 
ing of soul and spirit, and quick to discern the 
thoughts and intents of the heart. Jesus, in his 
prayers on earth, in his intercession in heaven, 
in his promise of an answer to our prayers from 
there, makes this his first object — the glory of 
his Father. Is it so with us, too ? Or are not, 
in large measure, self-interest and self-will the 
strongest motives urging us to pray ? Or, if we 
cannot see that this is the case, have we not to ac- 
knowledge that the distinct, conscious longing for 
the glory of the Father is not what animates our 
prayers ? And yet it must be so. . . . It is only 
when the whole life, in all its parts, is given up 
to God's glory, that we can really pray to his 
glory, too. "Do all to the glory of God," and 
" Ask all to the glory of God," — these twin com- 
panions are inseparable ; obedience to the former 
is the secret of grace for the latter. A life to the 
glory of God is the condition of the prayers that 
Jesus can answer, " that the Father may be glo- 
rified.". . . What a humbling thought that so 
often there is earnest prayer for a child or a 
friend, for a work or a circle, in which the 
thought of our joy and pleasure is far stronger 
than any yearnings for God's glory ! No wonder 
there are so many unanswered prayers. — "With 
Christ in the School of Prayer." 



« 9 



JANUARY 20. 



Murray. 



Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit. 
— 1 Cor. 6 : 20. 



HEN Jesus came to the earth, it was that 



might again show forth in its true light and 
beauty that glory which sin had so entirely hid- 
den from man. . . . Let our whole life, like 
Christ's, be animated by this as its ruling princi- 
ple, growing stronger until, in a holy enthusiasm, 
our watchword has become, All, all to the 
glory of God. If we want to know the way, 
let us study Jesus. Jesus glorified God by obey- 
ing him. He obeyed the Father. Let simple, 
downright obedience mark our whole life. Let 
a humble, childlike waiting for direction, a sol- 
dierlike looking for orders, a Christlike depend- 
ence on the Father's showing us his way, be our 
daily attitude. . . . Let God's glory shine out in 
the holiness of our life. 

Jesus glorified God by confessing him. He 
confessed the Father. He did not hesitate to 
speak often of his personal relationship and in- 
tercourse, just as a little child would do of an 
earthly parent. It is not enough that we live 
right before men ; how can they understand if 
there be no interpreter ? 

Jesus glorified God by giving himself for the 
work of redeeming love. O, let us give ourselves 
to God for our fellow men, that they may see 
that God is glorious in holiness, that the whole 
earth may be filled with his glory. — " Like 
Christ." 



Do All to the Glory of God. 




Father, that he 



20 



Murray. 



JANUARY 21. 



Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 
— Matt. 6 : io. 

Doing God's Will. 

MAN was created with a free will in order that 
he might have the power to choose, and of 
his own accord do God's will. And lo ! deceived 
by the devil, man committed the greatest sin of 
rather doing his own will than God's. . . . Not 
herein is sin, that a man has a creature-will, dif- 
ferent from the Creator's, but in this, that he 
clings to his own will when it is seen to be con- 
trary to the will of the Creator. As a man, 
Christ Jesus had a human will, the natural, 
though not sinful, desires that belong to human 
nature. . . . He surrendered himself as a man, 
to live only in and for the will of God. . . . 
Praise God, I, too, may live only to do the 
will of God. Let no fear keep us back from 
this. Think not that this will be too hard for us 
to do ; God's will only seems hard as we look at 
it from a distance and are unwilling to submit to 
it. . . . We too often think only of the suffering 
will of God. . . . The will of God is the will of 
his love ; how can we fear to surrender ourselves 
to it ? . . . There is nothing that will keep us 
closer to God in union to Christ than loving 
and keeping and doing the will of God. ... In 
heaven the angels find their highest blessedness 
in doing the will of God. ... In all nature the 
will of God is done. Look at the sun and moon 
and grass and flowers, and see what glory each 
of them has because it is just doing God's will. 



21 



JANUARY 22. 



Murray. 



I am the vine, ye are the branches. — John 
15:5. 

The Vine and the Branch. 

SO close is the union between the vine and 
the branch that each is nothing without 
the other, and each is wholly and only for the 
other. Without the vine, the branch can do nothing. 
To the vine it owes its right of place in the vine- 
yard, its life and its fruitfulness. And so the 
Lord says, " Without me ye can do nothing." 
The believer can each day be pleasing to God 
only in that which he does through the power of 
Christ dwelling in him. The daily inflowing of 
the life-sap of the Holy Spirit is his only power 
to bring forth fruit. Without the branch the vine 
can also do nothing. A vine without branches 
can bear no fruit. No less indispensable than 
the vine to the branch is the branch to the vine. 
Such is the wonderful condescension of the grace 
of Jesus, that just as his people are dependent 
on him, he has made himself dependent on them. 
Without his disciples he cannot dispense his 
blessing to the world. . . . 

All that the vine possesses belongs to the branches. 
The vine does not gather from the soil its fatness 
and its sweetness for itself ; all it has is at the 
disposal of the branches. And Jesus, to whom 
we owe our life, how completely does he give 
himself for us and to us ! All the branch possesses 
belongs to the vine. The branch does not exist 
for itself, but to bear fruit. . . . Glorious image 
of the calling of the believer ! — " Abide in 
Christ." 



22 



Murray. 



JANUARY 23. 



Let us draw near . . . having our hearts 
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies 
washed with pure water. — Heb. 10:22. Who 
shall ascend into the hill of the Lord ? or who 
shall stand in his holy place ? He that hath 
clean hands and a pure heart. — Ps. 24 : 3, 4. 
Cleanse your hands . . . purify your hearts. — ■ 
Jas. 4 : 8. 

Pure Souls and Clean Bodies. 

IN man's constitution, body and soul are won- 
derfully united. In the fall both came under 
the power of sin and death ; in redemption deliv- 
erance has been provided for both. He that 
believes with the heart comes with the body to be 
baptized. It is a token that the whole exterior 
physical life is to be his too. We need to be on 
the watch lest the pursuit of the inner life lead us 
to neglect the external. A heart sprinkled with 
blood, a body washed with pure water from every 
stain, — these God has joined together ; let no 
man separate them. 

Our body is very specially the temple of the 
Holy Spirit ; in the body the Father is to be 
glorified. Like Christ we must yield our body 
with every member, every power, every action, to 
fulfil his will, to be offered up to him, to glorify 
him. . . . Through the body Satan conquered 
in Paradise ; in the body he tempted Christ. 
Our eating and drinking, our sleeping, our cloth- 
ing, our labor and relaxation, — these things have 
more influence on our spiritual life than we know. 
■ — "Holiest of All." 



23 



JANUARY 24. 



Murray. 



The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us 
from all sin. — 1 John 1:7. 

The Precious Blood of Christ. 

THE power of Christ's blood consists in two 
things. One element that gives the blood 
its value is the holy obedience of which its out- 
pouring was the proof. . . . His self-sacrifice 
was complete and perfect, and his blood, even as 
the blood of a man, was, in God's sight, inex- 
pressibly precious. It was the embodiment of a 
perfect obedience. 

The other element is that the eternal Spirit 
was in the life of that blood. It was the Word 
that became flesh, the eternal Son of God that 
was made man. It was the life of God that 
dwelt in him. That life gave his blood, each 
drop of it, an infinite value. The blood of a 
man is worth more than that of a sheep. The 
blood of a king or a general is counted of more 
value than hundreds of common soldiers. The 
blood of the Son of God ! — it is in vain the 
mind seeks for some expression of its value ; all 
we can say is, it is his own blood, the precious 
blood of the Son of God! It is this twofold, 
infinite worth of the blood that gives it such 
mighty power. . . . This cleansing is elsewhere 
spoken of as Christ's washing us in his blood. A 
piece of linen that is to be washed is steeped and 
saturated till every stain is taken out. As we 
allow r the blood to possess our whole inner being, 
we shall know what it means that it makes whiter 
than snow. — "Holiest of All." 



24 



Murray. 



JANUARY 25. 



I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; 
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. — Gal. 2 : 20. 

Christ in Me. 

WHEN I gave myself to my crucified Sa- 
viour, sin and flesh and all, he took me 
wholly ; I with my evil nature was taken up with 
him in his crucifixion. ... I myself died with 
him ; in the innermost centre of my being I re- 
ceived a new life ; Christ lives in me. . . . God 
expects us to strive to speak and act exactly like 
Christ, because the life that is % in us is exactly the 
same as that which was in him. We have a life 
like his within us ; what more natural than that 
the outward life should be like his too ? Christ 
living in us is the root and strength of Christ's 
acting and speaking through us, shining out from 
us so as to be seen by the world. . . . The pre- 
vailing idea is that we have to believe in Jesus as 
our atonement and our Saviour, and then, under 
the influence of the strong motives of gratitude 
and consistency, to strive to imitate his example. 
But motives cannot supply the strength ; the sense 
of impotence remains. . . . Souls must be taught 
to believe that this example is not a something, 
not even a some one, outside of them, but the 
living Lord himself, the very life, who will work 
in them what he first gave them to see in his 
earthly life. If they will submit themselves to 
him, he will manifest himself in them and their 
life-walk in a way passing all their thoughts. — 
" Like Christ." 



2 5 



JANUARY 26. 



Murray. 



But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in 
a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed 
into the same image from glory to glory, even as 
from the Lord the Spirit. — 2 Cor. 3 : 18, R. V. 
(margin). 

Divine Photography. 

WHAT rich instruction in regard to the 
divine photography of which the text 
speaks, do we see in the human art ! . . . With 
what care the tenderly sensitive plate is prepared 
to receive the impression ! With what precision 
its relative position to the object portrayed is 
adjusted ! How still and undisturbed it is then 
held face to face with that object ! Having done 
this, the photographer leaves the light to do its 
wonderful work. 

May we learn the precious lessons. Let us 
believe in the power of the light of God to tran- 
scribe Christ's image in our heart. " We are 
changed into the same image as by the Spirit of 
the Lord." Let us not seek to do the work the 
Spirit must do ; let us simply trust him to do it. 
Our duty is to seek the prepared heart, waiting, 
longing, praying for the likeness ; to take our 
place face to face with Jesus, studying, gazing, 
loving, worshipping, and believing that the won- 
derful vision of that crucified One is the sure 
promise of what we can be ; and then, putting 
aside all that can distract, in stillness of soul, 
silent unto God, just to allow the blessed Spirit 
as the Light of God to do the work. — " Like 
Christ." 



26 



Murray. 



JANUARY 27. 



A new commandment I give unto you, that 
ye love one another ; even as I have loved you, 
that ye also love one another. — John 13 : 34. 



VEN as I have loved you ; that word gives 



JL__^ us the measure of the love wherewith we 
must love each other. . . . He who would be 
like Christ must unhesitatingly accept this as his 
rule of life. He knows how difficult, how impos- 
sible, it is thus to love brethren, in whom there is 
so much that is offensive or unamiable. Before 
going out to meet them in circumstances where 
his love may be tried, he goes in secret to his 
Lord, and with his eye fixed on his own sin and 
unworthiness, asks, How much owest thou thy 
Lord ? He goes to the cross, and there seeks to 
fathom the love wherewith the Lord has loved 
him. He lets the light of the immeasurable love 
of him who is in heaven, his head and Elder 
Brother, shine in upon his soul, until he learns to 
feel divine love has but one law ; love seeks not 
its own, love gives itself wholly. And he lays 
himself on the altar before his Lord ; even as 
thou hast loved me, so will I love the brethren. 
. . . The Christian who really takes the Lord's 
words, " Love one another, even as I have loved 
you," as a command that must be obeyed, carries 
about a power for blessing and life for all with 
whom he comes in contact. . . . Lord, thou 
livest in me, thy Spirit dwells and works in me. 
Let me understand that I can love, not with my 
own love, but with thy love. — "Like Christ." 



Loving One Another. 




27 



JANUARY 28. 



Murray. 



Forbearing one another, and forgiving one 
another, if any man have a quarrel against any : 
even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. — 
Col. 3 : 13. 



O forgive like thee, blessed Son of God ! I 



hast given the command, givest also the power. 
Thou who hadst love enough to forgive me, wilt 
also fill me with love, and teach me to forgive 
others. Thou who didst give me the first blessing, 
in the joy of having my sins forgiven, wilt surely 
give me the second blessing, the deeper joy of 
forgiving others as thou hast forgiven me. O, 
fill me to this end with faith in the power of thy 
love to me, to make me like thyself, to enable 
me to forgive the seventy times seven, and so to 
love and bless all around me. 

O my Jesus, thy example is my law; I must 
be like thee. And thy example is my gospel, 
too ; I can be as thou art. Thou art at once my 
law and my life. What thou demandest of me 
by thy example, thou workest in me by thy 
life. I shall forgive like thee. 

Lord, only lead me deeper into my dependence 
on thee ; into the all-sufficiency of thy grace and 
thy blessed keeping which comes from thine in- 
dwelling. Then shall I believe and prove the 
all-prevailing power of love. I shall forgive even 
as Christ has forgiven me. Amen. — " Like 
Christ." 



Forgiving One Another. 




Thou who 



2S 



Murray. 



JANUARY 29. 



For this is thankworthy, if a man for con- 
science toward God endure grief, suffering 
wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye 
be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it 
patiently ? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for 
it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 
— 1 Pet. 2 : 19, 20. 

Suffering Wrongfully. 

OLORD, my God, I have heard thy precious 
word : " If any man endure grief, suffering 
wrongfully, and take it patiently, this is accept- 
able with God." This is indeed a sacrifice that 
is well-pleasing to thee, a work that thine own 
grace alone hath wrought, a fruit of the love of 
thy beloved Son, of the example he left, and the 
power he gives in virtue of his having destroyed 
the power of sin. 

0 my Father, teach me and all thy children to 
aim at nothing less than complete conformity to 
thy dear Son in this trait of his blessed image. 
I would now, once for all, give up the keeping 
of my honor and my rights into thy hands, 
never more again myself to take charge of them. 
Thou wilt care for them most perfectly. May my 
only care be the honor and rights of my Lord ! 

1 beseech thee, fill me with faith in the con- 
quering power of suffering love. Give me to 
apprehend fully how the suffering Lamb of God 
teaches us that patience and silence and suffer- 
ing avail more with God, and, therefore, with 
man, too, than might or right. O my Father, I 
must, I would, walk in the footsteps of my Lord 
Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit be my strength. 
— " Like Christ." 



29 



JANUARY 30. 



Murray. 



My son, regard not lightly the chastening of 
the Lord, nor faint when thou art reproved of 
him. — Heb. 12:5. 



HESE words warn against a double danger. 



We may regard lightly the chastening of 
the Lord, seeking to bear up against it with 
human wisdom ; looking upon it as the lot of all, 
counting ourselves too manly to bow before it, 
trusting to time and fortune to bring a change ; 
we do not accept it as God's chastening. Neither 
faint when thou art reproved of hi?n, — here is the 
other danger. Be not discouraged or cast down 
as if the chastening was too heavy, more than 
you deserved or are able to bear. Beware, above 
everything in your Christian life, of becoming 
impatient, of losing courage. It is trial and vexa- 
tion, care and anxiety, persecution or reproach, 
that often causes this. Learn to-day the secret 
of never suffering loss in the soul by the suffer- 
ings of life, — yea, rather, of always making them 
your greatest gain. Link them to God and to 
Jesus. It is God who sends them. He sent 
them to Jesus and perfected him through them. 
He sends them to thee in the same love. . . . Let 
this truth be accepted in every trial, great and 
small ; first of all and at once, recognize Goers 
hand in it. Say at once, " My Father has al- 
lowed this to come ; I welcome it from him ; he 
will make it a blessing." — "Holiest of All." 



Fainting under Trial. 




3° 



Murray. 



JANUARY 31. 



And now, little children, abide in him ; that, 
when he shall appear, we may have confidence, 
and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 
— 1 John 2 : 28. 

44 Till He Come." 

" r I ^ILL he come," is the watchword of every 
JL true-hearted believer. He longs- to see 
the King come in his glory, reigning over every 
enemy, the full revelation of God's everlasting 
love. " Christ shall appear, and we shall appear 
with him in glory." 

There may be very serious differences in the 
exposition of the promises of his coming. To 
one it is plain as the day that he is coming very 
speedily in person to reign on earth, and that 
speedy coming is his hope and stay. To another, 
loving his Bible and his Saviour not less, the 
coming can mean nothing but the judgment-day, 
— the solemn transition from time to eternity, 
the close of history on earth, the beginning of 
heaven ; and the thought of that manifestation 
of his Saviour's glory is no less his joy and 
strength. It is Jesus, Jesus coming again, 
Jesus taking us to himself, Jesus adored as 
Lord of all, that is to the whole church the sum 
and the centre of its hope. It is by abiding in 
Christ that the believer will be quickened to that 
truly spiritual looking for his coming, which 
alone brings true blessing to the soul. . . . Not 
the correctness of the views we hold, nor the 
earnestness with which we advocate them, will 
prepare us for meeting him, but only the abiding 
in him. — "Abide in Christ." 



3* 



FEBRUARY 

WITH 

FRANCIS E. CLARK. 




REV. FRANCIS E. CLARK. 



February . 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY I. 



Tarry ye here, and watch with me. — Matt. 
26:38. 

The Morning Watch. 

EMEMBER the morning watch. Set apart 
religiously and sacredly at least fifteen min- 
utes every morning to communion with God. 
More imperative than any business engagement, 
more sacred than any matter of family concern, 
more important than eating or sleeping, make this 
daily engagement with God. There look into the 
face of God ; " practise the presence of God " for 
at least fifteen minutes every morning before the 
day's cares distract your mind ; and you, like 
Moses, will be able to endure " as seeing him 
who is invisible." 

" Remember the morning watch ! " was the last 
cry of the departing missionaries to their com- 
panions on the Liverpool pier, as the steamer 
which carried them to Asia cast off her hawser. 
" Remember the morning watch ! " I would re- 
peat as we cast hawsers from the old year of 
Christian Endeavor, and move forward into the 
future. ... O, if a million Endeavorers every 
day for a year to come would remember the quiet 
hour, the power of Christian Endeavor with God 
and man would be multiplied a hundred-fold. — 
Annual Address, San Francisco, July, 1897. 

" Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear 
My voice ascending high ; 
To thee will I direct my prayer, 
To thee lift up mine eye." 




35 



FEBRUARY 2. 



Clark. 



And who then is willing to consecrate his ser- 
vice this day unto the Lord? — I Chron. 29 : 5 . 

A Christian Endeavor New Year's Message. 1 

AS we begin this new year of work, let us 
begin it with the thought of absolute de- 
pendence upon God for power. The more we 
have to do, the more power we must have with 
which to do it, and the more direct and constant 
must be the supplies of spiritual force that we 
seek and receive. . . . Let every one of us be a 
live wire to connect this world with God. . . . 
Let our motto during the coming year be, " A 
larger, fuller, deeper spiritual life." Let us bring 
every act to this touchstone, " Am I doing it for 
Christ's sake ? Am I seeking his honor ? If he 
were standing at my elbow, should I do this thing 
that I am about to do ? " 

Shall we not all unite during the year to come 
in this vow : " God helping me, I will be a hum- 
bler and more devout disciple. I will do all my 
work for Christ's dear sake. I will not seek my 
own glory or my own way, but his glory and his 
way. In my individual life, in my church, in my 
Christian Endeavor society, and in my Sunday 
school, in my efforts for my country and for the 
world at large, I will strive to do only, and always, 
and everywhere, what he would have me do." 

Is this too strong a vow for us to take ? I 
think not. Who of you will say, "This for 
me " ? — The Golden Rule. 

1 The Christian Endeavor movement was born in Williston Church, 
Portland, Maine, February 2, 1881. 



36 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 3. 



I wish above all things that thou mayest pros- 
per and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 
— 3 John 2. 

How Do You Do? 

HOW do YOU do ? You yourself, not the 
flesh and blood "you," but the spiritual 
"you.". . . Have you been living, as the hymn 
has it, at a " poor, dying rate," without caring 
much for a healthier spiritual life ? Have you 
become so used to spiritual ill health that you 
do not know what spiritual robustness and vigor 
really mean ? Stop and think for a moment. 
. . . The French question of salutation is, 
" Comment vous portez-vons ? " How do you carry 
yourself? to translate literally. How do you 
carry yourself in daily matters of Christian liv- 
ing "towards them that are without"? How do 
you carry yourself towards affairs that smack 
of worldliness and Christlessness ? How do you 
carry yourself towards all earnest efforts to ad- 
vance the Kingdom and help your fellow men ? 
Are you an outspoken, zealous Christian ? . . . 
These outward things show, in a measure, how 
you do, what your spiritual condition is ; tell 
the pulse and the temperature of your religious 
life. 

Let me remind you that there is a great Physi- 
cian that will heal every spiritual disorder, who 
will abide with you always as your Healer and your 
Friend. You are honored like the few great ones 
of the earth by having a resident physician always 
at your call. His presence will send abundant 
vitality and abounding spiritual life pulsating 
through your being. — The Golden Rule. 



37 



FEBRUARY 4. 



Clark. 



Not my will, but thine, be done. — Luke 22 : 
42. 

God's Will and Ours. 

THERE are several wrong ways of trying to 
make God's will our will, and young Chris- 
tians are apt to make mistakes in this. 

One wrong way is the way of agonized striv- 
ing. We set our teeth, so to speak, and seem to 
say, " I will be reconciled to God's will ; I will 
give up ; I will choose God's way." Instead of 
actually and absolutely giving up and yielding, 
we strive and struggle and groan about it, and do 
not actually do it. . . . Another wrong way we 
may call the partial way. We offer in our hearts 
to give up to God almost everything, to accept 
his will in all but one particular, to open every 
door of our heart but one. But God never enters 
to take full possession until he can have the 
whole. . . . The right way of making God's 
will our will is, as usual, Christ's way. " Let this 
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." 
. . . Take this matter to the Lord himself. In 
your morning watch to-morrow (I hope you keep 
it every day) sit alone before God for fifteen 
minutes ; lay aside every ambition, every pride, 
every thought of preeminence ; empty yourself 
(there is no other word for it) ; open your soul 
and your spirit thus emptied for the infilling of 
Jesus Christ ; and you will get, I believe, a blessed 
glimpse of what it is to put God's will in place 
of yours, a glimpse which you will wish daily 
to repeat until it becomes a lifelong vision. — 
The Golden Rule. 



3S 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 5. 



Let your light so shine before men, that they 
may see your good works, and glorify your Father 
which is in heaven. — Matt. 5:16. 

Keeping the Windows Clean. 

I OFTEN see, as I walk along the city streets 
in the early morning, the boys busy with 
sponge and polishing-powder, cleaning the win- 
dows, preparatory to the day's shopping. . . . 
How many of us might learn a lesson from 
the shopkeepers ! How little pains we take to 
have the windows through which men look in 
upon our lives, speckless ! . . . Many a Chris- 
tian, whose heart at times seems filled with the 
love of God, always has an impenetrable cur- 
tain between his neighbors and friends and his 
own religious life. People have an impression 
that within the lighthouse tower the light is 
shining, but it is a veiled light. Or, worse still, 
the window of his soul is befouled and soiled 
with the flecks of a worldly life, or the passing 
teams of a sharp competition have spattered it 
with the mud of business rivalry, and these 
specks on the window only are seen, and not 
the rich treasure of the mind and soul that 
lies behind. There is a duty devolving upon 
every Christian, not only to see that his heart is 
right, but that the windows through which the 
world looks in upon him are clear and transpar- 
ent. — "The Mossback Correspondence." 



39 



FEBRUARY 6. 



CLARK. 



Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled 
about many things. — Luke io : 41. 

The Cause of Unrest — A Mind Not at Leisure 
from Itself. 

TV /TANY of us complain of being over-busy. 



One duty chases after the heels of another ; the 
twenty-four hours are not long enough for half 
we would do. But is not much of this hurry and 
speed a fictitious thing ? Do we not have much 
busy-ness which is not business, much marking 
of time and little progress ? . . . Our own imag- 
inings and fears and anxieties often keep us ex- 
ceedingly busy. It is not the task that our trade, 
or profession, or position in life imposes upon 
us ; it is the work and the worry which, utterly 
needlessly, we impose upon ourselves. For in- 
stance, some anticipated trouble seizes hold of 
our minds, and we have no leisure from that 
trouble. It haunts our dreams by night, and 
dogs our steps by day. ... Or some real or fan- 
cied slight rankles in our hearts, and for days and 
weeks it gives us no rest. Every conscious 
thought is more or less embittered by the slight. 
. . . More likely still, it is some secret, unforgiven 
sin that gives us no rest. Waking or sleeping, 
walking or sitting, in the house and by the way, 
studying and trading, our mind is occupied by 
a subconsciousness of this evil thing. . . . 
Every day has this heavy mortgage upon it, a 
mortgage more fatal to our peace than the larg- 
est encumbrance on our property. — The Golden 
Rule. 




morning till night. 



40 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 7. 



Mary sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 
— Luke 10 : 39. 

A Cure for Unrest — " A Mind at Leisure from 
Itself/ 9 

I KNOW of but one secret. To fill ourselves 
with God is to empty ourselves of self. God 
gives us leisure from ourselves. The mind filled 
with God is the only one that has leisure to do 
its best work in the world. The soul occupied 
by God is the only free soul. Many a one who 
has the credit of being worn out with work is 
really worn out with worry, and worry usually 
means self. We desire to accomplish more in 
this world, to multiply our power to take on more 
work ; and very rightly we desire this. How 
shall we do it ? Only by obtaining more leisure ; 
and this leisure must be from our own nagging, 
importunate selves, the self that steals our time, 
and wears out our powers, and makes young men 
old, and old men sick. 

Take time to obtain this leisure. Spend the 
"morning watch" with God. With open Bible 
and uplifted heart every day " practise the pres- 
ence of God." Surrender to him Self, the thief ; 
Self, the robber of time and energy and life itself. 
Sacrifice the self-life, and in its place he will give 
you his life, abundant life ; life that has leisure 
for every duty ; . . . life that will enable you to 
take up unattempted tasks and new burdens, and 
to carry them easily. Make room in your lives 
for God. Find leisure for him, and he will give 
you leisure from yourself, and for a life-work 
larger and fuller than you can at first conceive. 

41 



FEBRUARY 8. 



Clark. 



The law of his God is in his heart ; none of 
his steps shall slide. — Ps. 37 : 31. 

Concerning Moral Mountain=clinibing. 

A GREAT deal more depends upon what we 
deem dull, commonplace, and prosaic, than 
upon the occasional lofty mountains of achieve- 
ment. I doubt whether, in the moral world, there 
are any startling Alpine heights to be climbed in 
a single journey. Our daily ascent is more like 
our journey across the Nebraska prairies and Colo- 
rado plains from the Missouri River to the Rocky 
Mountains. We are going up hill all the way, 
but so gradually that we do not know it until at 
last we stand five thousand feet above the sea, 
under the very shadow of Pike's Peak itself. So 
every duty done, every act of kindness rendered, 
takes us one step up the hill ; an inappreciable 
step, perhaps; a monotonous, weary sort of a 
step sometimes ; but yet a step that leads to real 
heights of moral grandeur. . . . Walking, after 
a while, becomes an unconscious act, and moral 
hill-climbing an unconscious habit. After all, 
one does not often set out to climb the Alps ; 
and when he gets upon a snow-clad, cloud-capped 
mountain, he very soon has to come down again. 
But from the gentle slopes of every-day duty and 
gentleness and kindness there need be no return. 
This is the best kind of mountain-climbing, for 
these steps lead one at last to the top, and into 
the very presence of God. — The Golden Rule. 



42 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 9. 



Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in 
sincerity and in truth. — Josh. 24 : 14. 

Living as We Sing. 

AT the last prayer meeting which you and I 
attended, we sang very lustily : — 
" It may not be my way, 
It may not be thy way, 
And yet in his own way, 
The Lord will provide." 

And then we went home, and lay awake all 
night over that bad bill whereby we lost a hundred 
dollars, as though we should certainly come to 
the poorhouse in consequence. 

Last Sunday morning, just before the mission- 
ary sermon was preached, we sang right lustily : — 
" Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
That were a present far too small ; 
Love so amazing, so divine, 

Demands my soul, my life, my all." 

Then when the contribution was taken up we 
hunted around . . . for a small piece of money, 
and each put into the box a twenty-five-cent 
piece. 

In the evening we joined in singing : — 
" Speak gently to the young, for they 
Will have enough to bear; 
Pass through this life as best they may, 
'T is full of anxious care." 

Then we went home and stormed like lunatics 
at little Johnny for having broken a pane of 
glass with his baseball, and at Mary for tearing 
her dress in the apple-tree. — " Christian En- 
deavor Saints." 



43 



FEBRUARY IO. 



Clark. 



Love not the world, neither the things that are 
in the world. — i John 2:15. 

Doubtful Amusements. 

THE question is not whether card-playing 
and dancing and theatre-going are damn- 
ing sins. It is not whether they shut one out of 
heaven above or the church below. The ques- 
tion is whether they promote or hinder the high- 
est type of Christian living ; whether they quicken 
or deaden the spiritual life ; whether they open 
the avenues of the soul to God, or close them to 
his entrance. 

I believe there is only one answer to these 
questions. One may perhaps live a passable 
religious life, even a Christian life of a certain 
type, while indulging in these things, I admit ; 
but if the experience of millions proves anything, 
it proves that the deeper spiritual life, the life 
that is hid with Christ in God, cannot be lived 
while these amusements preoccupy and engross 
the soul. 

Your attitude upon these matters depends upon 
what kind of a life you desire to live. If you 
are content to barely crowd into heaven ; if your 
great ambition in being a Christian is to avoid 
the fires of hell ; if you desire to live a passable, 
respectable life, no more than the average ; if you 
are content to have little joy in the Holy Ghost, 
none of the peace that passeth understanding, 
and few glimpses of God himself ; if you have 
no ambition to be eminently Christlike and largely 
used of God, then vou can find vour satisfaction 
at the card-table, the ball, and the theatre. 



44 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY II. 



If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, 
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day ; . . . 
then I will cause thee to ride upon the high places 
of the earth. — Isa. 58 : 13, 14. 

Sunday Bicycles. 

THERE are two things to be considered in 
deciding the question of Sunday bicycling. 
One is its effect on yourself. Are you certain 
that it will not lower your reverence for the Sab- 
bath, and your general moral standard ? But, 
after all, this question, and many others like it, 
resolves itself into Cain's old question, " Am I 
my brother's keeper ? " No man liveth to him- 
self, and no man dieth to himself, and no man 
rideth his bicycle to himself. We are involved 
in so complex a network of relationships one 
with another, that others must be considered in 
deciding such a question. You are not a Robin- 
son Crusoe, with your man Friday, and your goat 
and parrot, on a desert island. Will your bicycle 
lead somebody else to break the Sabbath ? . . . 
Shall you be counted among Sabbath-breakers, 
and your profession of religion be discounted, if 
you take a ride just for exercise ? Will your ex- 
ample do something to break down the sanctity 
of the American Sabbath ? Does this seem a 
narrow, cramped sort of life, — always looking 
out for somebody else, always living in fear of 
public opinion ? There is one motive that raises 
such self-denial above the fear of public opinion. 

. . . "The love of Christ constraineth us." 
Therefore, we will not ride, if it bring dishonor 
upon his name, or cause others to desecrate his 
day. — The Golden Rule. 



45 



FEBRUARY 12. 



Clark. 



What aileth thee ? — Gen. 21 : 17. 



riean Streaks. 

SOME very good people have their virtues 
quite overbalanced by a certain mean fibre 
of disposition or character which runs through 
their lives. They may be entirely unconscious 
of the " mean streak " ; in fact, they generally 
are, but their friends are in no way oblivious to it. 
It is like a horrid discord in the midst of sweet 
harmony, an acrid taste in luscious fruit, an un- 
sightly object in a beautiful landscape. . . . 
Sometimes this mean streak is a lack of generos- 
ity ; sometimes it is a lack of charity ; quite as 
often as otherwise it is an ill-natured tongue, a 
tongue that delights to speak sharp words, or 
galling words, or in some way to plant a thorn in 
another's pillow, by reminding him of some defect 
or mischance. Very likely this same thorn-planter 
may have a most lovely smile ; . . . she may be 
ready to watch with a friend in sickness, or sym- 
pathize when real trouble comes ; but she cannot 
restrain the cutting remark, she cannot forbear 
to give the timely " dig," she unmercifully rejoices 
in a kind of moral (or immoral) pin-sticking. 
Most of us are anxious to have our characters 
right in the main ; let us be equally mindful of 
the mean streaks. — " The Mossback Corre- 
spondence." 



46 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 1 3. 



Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy 
brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that 
is in thine own eye ? — Matt. 7 : 3. 

Seeing Others' Faults. 

HE who lives with the faults of his friends, 
and counts them over, and sorts them, and 
weighs them, and measures them, will soon have 
equally grave ones of his own, which his friends 
will be sure to see, and which will make him pos- 
itively unable to cure them. There is nothing that 
so deteriorates character as this undue looking after 
faults and blemishes in others, while we are blind 
to our own. We may abhor meanness and stin- 
giness in our neighbor, and be able to give a hun- 
dred reasons why he should give away more in 
charity, and see many little things which indicate 
his smallness of soul, and at the same time we 
may be so engrossed with one phase of meanness 
in him as to forget other phases of meanness in 
ourselves. We may abhor untruth so vehemently 
in some one else, that we shall forget to hate im- 
purity in ourselves. We may despise our neigh- 
bor for his sharpness and trickery, and spread 
over our own slackness and idleness and shift- 
lessness the coverlet of, " Thank God, I'm not a 
sharper." The idle, thriftless man can never re- 
form the overshrewd speculator ; the impure man 
can never lift the untruthful man out of the bog ; 
the gossip is not fit to cure the miser of his self- 
ishness. — " The Mossback Correspondence." 



47 



FEBRUARY 14. 



Clark. 



In her tongue is the law of kindness. — Prov. 
31 : 26. 

St. Speakwell. 

ON one occasion a most savory bit of scandal 
came to St. SpeakwelPs ears. It was such 
a good story, though to be sure it rather threw a 
blight upon the good name of one person in town ; 
but that person was a sour, disagreeable creature, 
whom most people would agree didn't deserve a 
good name anyway. St. Speakwell was the only 
person who had heard the story. . . . But she 
said to herself : " No ; I will not tell that story. 
It may not be altogether true, and it certainly is 
not altogether kind. I will keep it to myself, and 
perhaps it will die out." And sure enough, 
though it may seem strange and improbable, it did 
die away and never was repeated. At the same 
time, St. Speakwell heard another story about 
the same sour, uncomfortable character, that was 
altogether different, — a story of devotion and 
heroism ; and this she repeated everywhere, so 
that at length the reputation of this person, which 
had always been at a discount, began to rise until 
it stood almost at par in the social gossip mar- 
ket. This change in the opinion of her neigh- 
bors so wrought upon the nature of the afore- 
mentioned Mrs. Grimley, that during the latter 
part of her life she was mellowed and softened, 
and beloved by all. — " Christian Endeavor 
Saints." 



48 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY I 5. 



Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy 
neighbor. — Exod. 20 : 16. 

Anonymous Lies. 

IT is Bishop Warburton, I believe, who says 
something like this : " A lie has wings, but 
no legs. It cannot stand, but it is always ready 
to fly far and wide." How often this striking 
epigram has been proved true ! Lies inten- 
tional and lies unintentional, lies of ignorance 
and lies of malice aforethought, they all have 
wings, and the more dastardly and despicable 
the lie, the stronger its power of flight. They are 
like foul night-birds passing overhead in the dark- 
ness ; one only hears a dismal sound, and sees 
not the things that utter it. No sensible or right- 
minded person gives any credence to an anony- 
mous letter, but many a person will put full faith 
in an anonymous lie. " They say," with some, is 
almost equivalent to a sworn affidavit or the ver- 
dict of a jury. " Where there is so much smoke, 
there must be some fire," is a favorite motto with 
many people who think themselves wondrous 
wise. But it is far from being universally true. 

Every man owes it, not only to his neighbor, 
but to himself, either utterly to disregard the 
scandalous rumor, or to follow it up and prove its 
falsity or truth. Do not be deceived by the 
strength and breadth of its wings ; see if it has 
legs and can stand. — " The Mossback Corre- 
spondence." 



49 



FEBRUARY 1 6. 



Clark. 



Whatsoever things are true . . . honest . . . 
just . . . pure . . . lovely ... of good report 
. . . think on these things. — Phil. 4 : 8. 

Wandering Thoughts. 

IF you are troubled with wandering thoughts, 
evil thoughts, is it not possible that you 
have tried to force your heart away from evil, 
without fixing it upon the good ? Have you not 
just pulled up the weeds, and planted no good 
seed in your garden plot ? Have you not sim- 
ply swept and garnished your house, and left it 
empty for the seven spirits worse than the first ? 
Have you tried the " expulsive power of a new af- 
fection " ? Have you tried filling your soul every 
day with God, and keeping it filled with him? 
Let me commend to you a little prayer written by 
Thomas Elwood, more than two hundred and 
sixty years ago. 

" O that mine eyes might closed be 
To what concerns me not to see, 
That deafness might possess mine ear 
To what concerns me not to hear, 
That truth my tongue might always tie 
From ever speaking foolishly, 
That no vain thought might ever rest 
Or be conceived in my breast, 
That by each deed and word and thought 
Glory may to my God be brought ! 
But what are wishes ? Lord, mine eye 
On thee is fixed, to thee I cry : 
Wash, Lord, and purify my heart, 
And make it clean in every part ; 
And when 'tis clean, Lord, keep it, too; 
For that is more than I can do." 

— The Golden Rule. 

5° 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 1 7. 



Look not every man on his own things, but 
every man also on the things of others. — Phil. 
2 : 4. Love seeketh not her own. — 1 Cor. 13 : 5. 

For the Cure of Self=conceit. 

SEVERAL remedies have been recommended 
by the fraternity, but perhaps the following 
are the most successful : — 
1^ Prescription I. 

Reflection on the following topics : — 

(a) The fact that the world got along very well 
before the patient came into it. 

(b) The fact that it will get along quite as well 
when he leaves it. 

(c) The readiness with which every vacancy is 
filled, and the facility with which the world for- 
gets its idols. 

3^ Prescription II. 

A thorough study of biography, which will 
show : — 

1. How influential in their own generation 
really great men have been. 

2. How little one's own achievements look 
when placed beside theirs. 

3. How modest and unassuming said great 
men were in spite of their achievements. 

^ Prescription III. 

Most efficacious of all, prescribed by one Paul, 
an apostle : For I say, through the grace given 
unto me, to every man that is among you, not to 
think of himself more highly than he ought to 
think, but to think soberly, according as God 
hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. — 
"Christian Endeavor Saints," 

5 1 



FEBRUARY 1 8. 



Clark. 



And they all with one consent began to make 
excuse. — Luke 14: 18. 



X " A poor excuse is better than none." It 
is as false as it is old. A good excuse carries its 
own acquittal ; a poor excuse is worse than none. 
You refused to take a Sunday-school class when 
the superintendent urged you to do so, on the 
ground that " you could not get along with boys," 
when you had never tried to teach such a class 
and did not know what you could do. The real 
reason was that you did not want to give up your 
Sunday afternoon nap. You told Parson Good- 
speed on Monday morning that you did not go 
to church the day before because it was so rainy, 
though it was raining just as hard that Monday 
morning as it had rained the day previous, and 
you were talking with him under a dripping um- 
brella, which sheds water just as well on Sunday 
as Monday. You told the lookout committee 
of the Young People's society that you took no 
part in the previous consecration meeting because 
your heart fluttered so, and you were so timid 
you "just couldn't" when you knew and they 
knew that if a hundred-dollar bill had depended on 
your making that exertion, you would have pock- 
eted your bashfulness, as well as the bill, and 
run the risk of the heart-disease. It is n't worth 
while to make these excuses. God is not de- 
ceived ; those who listen to you are not deceived. 
— " Christian Endeavor Saints." 



Poor Excuses. 




heard the old proverb, 



5 2 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 1 9. 



Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the 
Lord my God of that which doth cost me noth- 
ing. — 2 Sam. 24 : 24. 

How Our Love for Christ Is Measured. 

MISSIONARY zeal and spiritual enthusiasm 
for saving a lost world will come with 
consecrated pocketbooks, and they will not come 
without. Your love for Christ is measured by 
what you sacrifice to advance his cause. Neither 
angels nor men can measure it in any other way. 
The man who prays " Thy kingdom come," and 
does not give some just proportion of his income 
to promote the kingdom, is a conscious or uncon- 
scious hypocrite. " Feel for me, but feel in your 
pocket," as John Ploughman says, is as applica- 
ble to the mission cause as to the beggar at your 
door. I believe that the consecration of our in- 
come, whether it be ten cents or ten thousand 
dollars a year, will enable us to pray and work 
and live for Christ as we have never done before. 

Most of us have regarded tithe-giving as a 
result of an earnest Christian life. But it is a 
cause as well as an effect. It is one of the paths 
that lead to the cross. It is one of the avenues 
into the deeper Christian life. Set apart a defi- 
nite part of your income, something that will cost 
you a pang to give back to God. Give it with 
earnest prayer as a genuine sacrifice ; and you 
will be a better Christian, a better man for the 
self-denial. — The Golde?i Rule. 

" I gave my life for thee, 
What hast thou given for me? " 



53 



FEBRUARY 20. 



Clark. 



Upon the first day of the week let every one 
of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered 
him. — i Cor. 16 : 2. 

St. Bountiful. 

SAINT BOUNTIFUL took in washing for a 
living, and from Monday morning to Saturday 
night she was bending over her washtub or her 
ironing-board. But when Sunday morning came, 
she was always in her seat in church ; and no 
one paid pew-rent more regularly or promptly. 
. . . Moreover, when the collection for foreign 
missions or home missions, church-building or 
the sailors, was taken up, St. Bountiful always 
dropped at least a crisp five-dollar bill upon the 
plate, and sometimes a ten-dollar bill. ... At 
last it became noised about that St. Bountiful 
gave away as much money as the richest in all 
that church. ... At length her pastor, in one 
of his visits, made bold to ask her how it was that 
she had so much to give away. " Why, it 's 
very easy," said St. Bountiful, with that contented 
smile that always made her homely face so beau- 
tiful. " It all comes out of my fifths. Even the 
Jews, who crucified my Lord, gave away a tenth, 
and I have twice the reason to give that they had. 
I can earn, if I work hard, six dollars a week ; 
my fifths, you see, come to $1.20 every week, or 
$62.40 a year. Of course, then, I have some- 
thing to give when the plate is passed. No great 
secret about that, is there ? " You may be sure 
the pastor did not keep this secret to himself, 
and the knowledge of her beneficence wrought 
a revolution in that church. — " Christian En- 
deavor Saints." 



54 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 21. 



God loveth a cheerful giver. — 2 Cor. 9 : 7. 

A Cure for Parsimony. 

THE victim of this disease is afflicted with 
a singular affection of the hand and arm. 
He is never able to reach to the bottom of his 
pocket, or to pick out any but the smallest coin 
from his pocketbook, when the contribution-box 
is passed. He gives a dime when he ought to 
give a dollar, and a dollar when he ought to give 
ten. . . . Only two cures are known, and are as 
follows : — 

1^ Prescription I. 

Begin very early. 

Take in hand the person suspected of this 
hereditary contagion when not more than five 
years of age. Teach him to' give as regularly as 
he attends church. Make it a part of his educa- 
tion. Let him earn and save the money that he 
gives, and teach him that it is disgraceful to 
hoard and not to share. 

1^ Prescription II. 

For patients advanced in life. 
Grit. 

Determination (to " let nater squirm.") 

Resolute generosity. 

Realization of the joy of giving. 

These character ingredients, together with the 
impelling grace of God, have been known to 
convert a penurious man, even in old age, into 
a very generous giver. — " Christian Endeavor 
Saints." 



55 



FEBRUARY 22. 



Clark. 



If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right 
hand forget her cunning. — Ps. 137 : 5. 

Consecrated Patriots. 

THE consecrated Christian has not always 
been patriotic ; the patriot has not always 
been a Christian. But we are learning a bitter 
lesson, — that true consecration to Christ involves 
the truest love of country, and that the best 
patriotism must be a consecrated Christian pa- 
triotism. . . . These are some of the things that a 
consecrated patriot will do : He will build his own 
life upon the Rock, Jehovah. He will consider 
the former days and learn God's hatred of na- 
tional sin and love of national righteousness in 
the history of his own and other lands. Though 
modest and teachable, he will not allow the 
natural timidity of youth to prevent him from do- 
ing his duty as a citizen. He will remember that 
God's " therefore " always follows his " because. " 
He will stand alone, if need be, on the unpopular 
side. . . . Many reforms are popular to-day. It 
does not require much courage to advocate them. 
The true test of consecrated patriotism is the 
advocacy of an unpopular reform. . . . The true 
patriot will not ask whether a thing is popular or 
unpopular, whether it is a despised reform or the 
" fad " of the day ; but he will inquire on his 
knees what God thinks of it, and as God bids 
him, thus will he say and vote and live. — The 
Golden Rule. 

56 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 23. 



Am I my brother's keeper? — Gen. 4 : 9. 

That Brother of Yours. 

DO you know why God has put you in the 
same family with that brother of yours, 
and has given you a common father and mother ? 
It did not come so by chance, but that you might 
exert a sisterly influence over him, pure and sweet 
and wholesome ; an influence that will raise him 
out of many a bog in which his coarser, masculine 
nature may otherwise get begrimed. Very much 
of his true success in life will depend on his ideal 
of true womanhood. If that ideal is exalted, he 
can never become utterly debased. If that ideal 
is low or trivial, he cannot rise very high in the 
scale of manhood. His ideal of womankind will 
be very much what you show yourself to be. 
You will be his gauge and standard of other 
women. Most likely your heart will be first 
touched by the divine truth, and will first accept 
a Saviour's love. Be to him then such an ex- 
ample of maidenly Christlikeness that he can- 
not miss the way to the cross. . . . " Let sisters 
not begrudge the time and care spent on a 
brother," writes one whose pithy words I have 
before quoted. . . . " Your brother will be either 
a blessing or a curse to society, a candidate for 
happiness or wretchedness. Don't snub him. 
Don't depreciate his ability. Don't talk discour- 
agingly about his future. Don't tease him." — 
" Looking Out on Life." 



57 



FEBRUARY 24. 



Clark. 



If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 
that giveth to ail men liberally, . . . and it shall 
be given him. — Jas. i : 5. 

What Life=work Shall I Choose? 

NO one can fairly face the responsibilities 
of life without asking prayerfully, " Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do ? " . . . It is a 
good sign when a young Christian is, first of all. 
as he begins to think of the future, drawn towards 
the ministry, or towards missionary work, and 
asks himself whether God has a place for him 
there. But it does not follow, by any means, that 
the question must be answered in the affirmative. 
. . . I like to quote William Carey's famous 
saying, when he was a " consecrated cobbler," 
before he went as a missionary : " My business 
is to preach the gospel. I mend shoes to pay 
expenses." That ought to be true of every one 
of us, whatever our so-called profession. Our 
" business is to preach the gospel " by our lives, 
in the school, at the store counter, on the farm, 
or in the shop. Whether you ought to preach it 
from the pulpit, . . . God, if you take it to him, 
will tell you. 

To sum up the whole matter : First, ask wis- 
dom from on high, often and earnestly ; second, 
consult the wisest friends who know you best ; 
third, use your own sanctified common sense ; 
fourth, be guided, in part, by providential circum- 
stances and opportunities ■ fifth, be sure that you 
are perfectly willing to do just what God would 
have you do, and follow in his way. and you will 
not go far wrong. — The Golden Rule. 

58 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 25. 



Let your conversation be without covetous- 
ness; and be content with such things as ye have. 
— Heb. 13: 5. 

For the Cure of Discontent. 

VERY many excellent prescriptions have 
been given for this malady. One of them 
is as follows : — 

Prescription I. 

Look up and not down, 
Look out and not in, 
Look forward and not back, 
And lend a hand. 

Prescribed by Dr. Hale. 

Another, equally efficacious, has never failed 
to bring relief : — 

Prescription II. 

Reflect on God's mercy, 
Remember thine own ill deserts, 
Rejoice in Christ's pardon, 
Rehearse the tokens of his love, 
Return thanks for every grace. 

Still another is the following, which has often 
been tried with success : — 

1^ Prescription III. 

Every day, between sunrise and sunset, do 
some kind deed for some one of God's creatures 
who is more unfortunate than thyself, with no 
thought of the personal consequence, and no hope 
of reward. — " Christian Endeavor Saints." 



59 



FEBRUARY 26. 



Clark. 



The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly 
out of temptations. — 2 Peter 2 : 9. 

A Heart Talk with a Tempted Soul. 

I 7 HEN you are tempted, the very last thing 



VV to do is to give up in despair. When 
you come to the brink of a precipice, shall you 
jump off into the ingulfing sea below, or shall you 
turn about and fly from the ragged edge ? . . . 
What shall you do ? Link arms with One that 
will walk right away from the precipice. Take 
and keep his hand, who will not let you fall 
again. . . . Take half an hour every night and 
morning, a full thirty minutes, to be alone with 
God. Let nothing ever interfere with this silent 
half-hour with God. There tell him of your 
temptations, your struggles, your falls. There 
sit before him, looking up into his face, saying, 
" God is here, he is within me. I am his tem- 
ple. I must keep the temple spotless." Open 
the doors of this temple to his coming. Thus 
alone, by yourself. " practise the presence of 
God." Every morning make this surrender of 
yourself to God, full and complete. Every night 
repeat it. In hours of temptation renew it. 
There is no other way. 

It is no use to strive and struggle and fret and 
fume. It is no use to turn the evil out-of-doors, 
unless you open the door to God. God is enough 
to fill and possess and envelop your life. Fill 
your thoughts, your affections, your life, with 
God; then victory and peace will be yours, the 
enemy will be vanquished, and your joy will be 
full. — The Golden Rule. 




60 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 27. 



Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet 
have believed. — John 20 : 29. 

A Heart Talk with a Doubting Soul. 

\ID you ever talk with God, my friend, when 



1 J you prayed ? Did you ever go to the Bible 
eagerly, as you would to a bundle of letters 
from a long-absent father, letters that contained 
a loving message for you, as if you were the 
only child he had in the world ? A fragmentary 
formal five minutes of prayer is not enough. . . . 
Go by yourself. Shut out every distracting care. 
Say to yourself over and over and over : " God is 
here." " Christ is by my side." " The Holy 
Spirit is within me." " This book that I have 
in my hand contains my Father's message to 
me." Dismiss for one half-hour at least, your 
scepticism and your pride of opinion. . . . You 
can believe. Really read the Bible. Really look 
up into God's face. Really listen for one quiet 
half-hour to the still small voice from above, . . . 
and you will cry, as Thomas when he felt the 
nail-prints and the spear-wound, " My Lord and 
my God." 

There is no other way of convincing you, my 
friend. I cannot do it. Men far wiser than I 
cannot do it. All the learned books in the world 
on Christian evidences will not help you much. 
. . . Listen to God's voice, and then go and do 
whatever he bids you do. Live for one month 
this life of humble supplication and ready obedi- 
ence, and see how your doubts disappear and the 
sunshine of God's love floods and fills your soul. 
— The Golden Rule. 




61 



FEBRUARY 28. 



Clark. 



Trust in him at all times, ye people ; pour out 
your heart before him : God is a refuge for us. — 
Ps. 62: 8. 

A Heart Talk with a Discouraged Soul. 

TAKE your trouble to God. It is well to ask 
others to pray for you, but it is doubly well 
to go directly to God yourself. Lay the matter 
all before him, not in a hasty prayer, but in a 
long hour of communion. Tell him of your 
blasted hopes and of your disappointed ambi- 
tions. While you pray, remember what he has 
said to you : " Xo good thing will he withhold 
from them that walk uprightly.'' " Come unto 
me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.'' 
Plead these promises with him, and a score of 
others ; but above all, open your heart to God, and 
be still before him. Let the balm of the silent 
presence of God heal your wounded spirit. Pray 
for God himself, rather than for money or friends, 
or the realization of ambition ; for when you 
have God, you have everything. When you 
have thus opened your heart to him, and received 
his presence as your abiding guest, I believe that 
in your every-day humdrum service . . . you 
will find joy and comfort that realized hopes and 
millions of money could not give you. For you 
there is but one remedy, and that remedy is God. 
But God can be had for the asking. Heaven is 
given away. Here on earth, in the midst of 
your cares and disappointments, you may have 
God. and heaven may begin for you. — The 
Golden Rule. 



62 



Clark. 



FEBRUARY 29. 



The strength of the hills is his also. — Ps. 95 : 4. 

The Strength of the Hills. 

THE expression, " The strength of the hills 
is his also," never seemed to me to have so 
much sunlight on it as of late, since I have been 
looking out daily, hourly, almost every minute, 
on Pilatus, and Rigi, and the Stanserhorn, and 
other Alpine peaks, from our windows in Lucerne 
and Berne. 

The strength of the hills — of these deeply 
rooted, broad-based mountains that spread out 
their foot-hills like so many vast outer fortifica- 
tions of a gigantic fortress — is his also. 

The strength of the hills — of these cloud- 
piercing Alpine summits, snow-clad from January 
to December, any one of which seems as if, Atlas- 
like, it could bear the world on its mighty shoul- 
ders — is his also. . . . 

And all this strength may be ours, since we 
are Christ's and Christ is God's. Here we have 
our warrant for attempting even the impossible. 
Here, also, we find the assurance of success in 
every simplest task. 

But the Alpine hills are beautiful as well as 
strong. Their feet are clothed with vineyards ; 
their middle slopes with the grandest of pasturage, 
even in October ; and above the pastures are the 
pines and firs before we come to the bare, rocky 
summits. Even these rocky, snowy topmost peaks 
have a strange and rare beauty of their own. . . . 
The beauty of the hills, as well as their strength, 
is his also. May our lives and deeds share in his 
beauty as well as in his power. — The Golden Rule. 

63 



MARCH 

WITH 

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. 



FRANCES RIDLEY HAVER GAL. 

March. I 



Havergal. 



MARCH I. 



I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the 
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a 
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which 
is your reasonable service. — Rom. 12 :1. 

Consecration Hymn. 1 

Take my life, and let it be 
Consecrated, Lord, to thee. 

Take my moments and my days ; 
Let them flow in ceaseless praise. 

Take my hands, and let them move 
At the impulse of thy love. 

Take my feet, and let them be 
Swift and beautiful for thee. 

Take my voice, and let me sing 
Always, only, for my King. 

Take my lips, and let them be 
Filled with messages from thee. 

Take my silver and my gold ; 
Not a mite would I withhold. 

Take my intellect, and use 

Every power as thou shalt choose. 

Take my will, and make it thine; 
It shall be no longer mine. 

Take my heart ; it is thine own ; 
It shall be thy royal throne. 

Take my love ; my Lord, I pour 
At thy feet its treasure-store. 

Take myself, and I will be 
Ever, only, all for thee. 

— "Loyal Responses." 

1 At the close of an address before the Young Women's Christian 
Association, in Swansea, Miss Havergal "took round to each one pres- 
ent a copy of her Consecration Hymn, with a blank space where each 
might sign her name, who would do so, in true and loyal allegiance." 
See also the suggestion of F. B. Meyer, p. 137. 

67 



MARCH 2. 



Havergal. 



So will I also be for thee. — Hos. 3 : 3. 
Christ for Us. 

THIS seems a greater marvel of love when 
we observe how he meets every detail of 
our consecration. 

His Life. " The Good Shepherd giveth his 
life for the sheep." 

His Eternity. " He ever liveth to make inter- 
cession " for thee. 

His Hands. Hands literally pierced, literally 
uplifted in parting blessing. 

His Feet. Weary often, wounded and bleeding 
once, making clear footprints as he went about 
doing good. 

His Voice. The Voice that his sheep " hear " 
and "know." He consecrated song, when he 
himself " sang an hymn " before he went forth 
to suffer. 

His Lips. Read through the Gospels, and won- 
der at the gracious words which fell from his 
lips, " for thee." 

His Wealth. " Though he was rich, yet for 
your sakes he became poor." 

His " Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge." 
"All that I have is thine." 

His Will always for us, and in us, and with 
us. 

His Heart. This mighty and tender heart is 
"for thee." 

His Love. " The love of Christ that passeth 
knowledge." 

Himself " Christ also hath loved us and given 
himself for us." 



68 



Havergal. 



MARCH 3. 



Choose you this day whom ye will serve.— 
Josh. 24: 15. No man can serve two masters. 
— Matt. 6 : 24. 

Christ or the World — Which ? 

TO-MORROW your manhood begins. 
Whose shall it be ? How much of it shall 
be for Him ? Shall it be, " some for self, and 
some for thee ? ". . . Can you not trustfully say, 
" Yea, let him take all " ? Can you deliberately 
say, " Well, Jesus shall have part " ? But you can- 
not serve two, much less several, masters. For, 
if you are serving self and pleasure and the 
world, even a little, you are serving Christ's 
enemy, and not serving him really at all, because 
he accepts no divided service. It is very solemn. 
... I wish I had an angel's tongue to persuade 
you to believe what blessedness you are on the 
edge of, if you only give yourself in full and 
glad surrender to Jesus. 

I can't describe the happiness he puts into a 
heart that will only give itself up altogether to 
him. I want you to have this and have it now ; 
not to wait till illness or great trouble come, 
and you feel driven at last to him. No ! that is 
simply " too bad ! " Jesus says, " Come now" 
not, " Come when everything else has turned 
bitter.". . . It is a grand thing to start out 
early and be on the Lord's side all along. — 
Extracts from letters. " Memorials of F. 
R. H." 



69 



MARCH 4. 



Havergal. 



Yield yourselves unto God. — Rom. 6:13. 

Progressive Consecration. 

THE transaction of making our lives over 
to God is definite and complete. But then 
begins the practical development of consecration. 
And here he leads on " softly, according as the 
children be able to endure." I do not suppose 
any one sees anything like all that it involves at 
the outset. We have not a notion of what an 
amount of waste of power there has been in our 
lives ; we never measured out the odd corners 
and undrained bits, and it never occurred to us 
what good fruit might be grown in our straggling 
hedge-rows, nor how the shade of our trees has 
been keeping the sun from our scanty crops. 
And so, season by season, we shall be sometimes 
not a little startled, yet always very glad, as we 
find bit by bit the Master shows how much may 
be made out of our ground , and we shall be wil- 
ling to work under him, and do exactly what he 
points out, even if it comes to cutting down 
a shady tree, or clearing out a ditch full of pretty 
weeds and wild flowers. 

As the seasons pass by, it will seem as if there 
was always more and more to be done. Only 
let him have the ground, no matter how poor 
or overgrown the soil may be, and then we shall 
sing, "My beloved has gone down into his gar- 
den, to the bed of spices, to feed in the gardens, 
and to gather lilies." — " Kept for the Mas- 
ter's Use." 



TO 



Havergal. 



MARCH 5. 



Who then is willing to fill his hand this day 
unto the Lord? — 1 Chron. 29 : 5 (margin). 

Our Hands for Jesus. 

Take my hands, and let them move 
At the impulse of thy love. 

DOES this mean that we are always to be 
doing some definitely " religious " work ? 
No, but that all that we do is to be always defi- 
nitely done to him. The simplest little duties 
and acts may be transfigured into holy service 
to the Lord. ... It may seem an odd idea, but 
a simple glance at one's hand, with the recollec- 
tion, " This hand is not mine ; it has been given 
to Jesus, and it must be kept for Jesus," may 
turn the scale in a doubtful matter, and be a 
safeguard from certain temptations. With this 
thought fresh in your mind, can you let your 
hand take up things which cannot be used either 
for Jesus or by him ? Cards, for instance ! Can 
you deliberately hold in it books of a kind which 
you know lead you farther from, instead of nearer 
to, him ? . . . Perhaps we need hardly say that 
the kept hands will be very gentle hands. The 
very way in which we close a door or lay down 
a book may be a victory or a defeat. . . . Why 
not ask Jesus to make these hands of ours more 
handy for his service, more skilful in what is in- 
dicated as the " next thynge " they are to do ? 
. . . And now, dear friend, what about your 
hands ? Are they consecrated to the Lord who 
loves you ? — " Kept for the Master's Use." 



71 



MARCH 6. 



Hayergal. 



The steps of a good man are ordered by the 
Lord. — Ps. 37 : 23. 

Our Feet for Jesus. 

Take my feet, and let them be 
Swift and beautiful for thee. 

THESE feet of ours are to be Christ's errand 
runners. . . . Shall the world have the use 
of them ? Shall they carry us where the world 
is- paramount, and the Master cannot be even 
named, because the mention of his name would 
be so obviously out of place ? Do you honestly 
want your very feet to be " kept for Jesus''? 
Let these simple words, " Kept for Jesus," ring 
out next time the dancing difficulty or any other 
difficulty of the same kind comes up, and I know 
what the result will be ! . . . 

The Lord will have many uses for what is kept 
for himself. 

" How beautiful are the feet of them that bring 
glad tidings of good things ! " That is the best 
use of all. . . . Then there are cups of cold water 
to be carried in all directions ; not to the poor 
only — ministries of love are often as much 
needed by a rich friend. . . . Then there is 
literal errand-going — just to fetch something 
that is needed for the household, or something 
that a tired relative wants, whether asked or 
unasked. Such things should come first instead 
of last, because they are clearly indicated as our 
Lord's will for us to do, by the position in which 
he has placed us. — " Kept for the Master's 
Use." 

72 



Havergal. 



MARCH 7. 



Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely 
give the tenth unto thee. — Gen. 28 : 22. 

Our Silver and Gold for Jesus. 

Take my silver and my gold ; 
Not a mite would I withhold. 

THOUGH we place all our money at our 
Lord's disposal, and rejoice to spend it all 
for him directly or indirectly, yet I am quite 
certain it is a great help and safeguard, and, what 
is more, a matter of simple obedience to the 
spirit of his commands, to set aside a definite 
and regular proportion of our income or receipts 
for his direct service. It is a great mistake to 
suppose that the law of giving the tenth to God 
is merely Levitical. " Search and look" for 
yourselves, and you will find that it is, like the 
Sabbath, a far older rule, running all through the 
Bible, and indorsed, not abrogated, by Christ 
himself. For, speaking of tithes, he said, 
" These ought ye to have done, and not to leave 
the other undone." To dedicate the tenth of 
what we have is mere duty ; charity begins be- 
yond it ; free-will offerings and thank-offerings 
beyond that again. . . . Some of us could tell of 
such sweet and singular lessons of trust in this 
matter, that they are written in golden letters of 
love in our memory. Of course there will be 
trials of our faith in this as in all else. — " Kept 
for the Master's Use." 



73 



MARCH 8. 



Havergal. 



Every one that hath forsaken houses, or breth- 
ren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or 
children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall re- 
ceive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting 
life. — Matt. 19: 29. 

" Giving Up" for Jesus. 

" TF I become a Christian, I shall have to give 
X up so many things." Spoken or unspoken, 
this is the invariable thought of every one who 
has not found Christ. " Giving up " this, or 
that, or the other, is a downright unfair way of 
putting it; unless, indeed, the magnificent gain 
is distinctly set against the paltry loss. . . . 
Over and above the unspeakable gift of eternal 
life, the Lord Jesus promises to those who leave 
anything for his sake that they " shall receive an 
hundred-fold now in this time "/ Do you sup- 
pose he did not mean what he said ? 

Listen to these twin promises, negative and 
positive : " No good thing will he withhold from 
them that walk uprightly ; and " The Lord will 
give that which is good." And yet your secret 
feeling is, that if you give yourself up to him, 
you will have to go without all sorts of things 
that you fancy are good and nice and pleasant, 
and that you will find yourself let in for all sorts 
of things which do not seem to you " good " at 
all. Is this fair when he has positively said 
just the opposite ? . . . However much you have 
or may have to give up for Christ, do believe 
the words of his prophet, " The Lord is able to 
give thee much more than this." — "The Royal 
Invitation." 



74 



Havergal. 



MARCH 9. 



Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my 
lord the king shall appoint. — 2 Sam. 15 : 15. 



The King's Appointments. 

IF we are really and always ready to do whatso- 
ever the King appoints, all the trials and vex- 
ations arising from any change in his appoint- 
ments, great or small, simply do not exist. If he 
appoints me to work there, shall I lament that I 
am not to work herel If he appoints me to 
wait indoors to-day, am I to be annoyed because 
I am not to work out-of-doors ? If I meant to 
write his messages this morning, shall I grum- 
ble because he sends interrupting visitors, rich 
or poor, to whom I am to speak them, or show 
kindness for his sake, or at least obey his com- 
mand, " Be courteous" ? 

Does it seem a merely ideal life ? Try it ! 
Begin at once ; before you venture away from 
this quiet moment, ask your King to make and 
keep you ready to do just exactly what he ap- 
points. Never mind about to-morrow. Try it 
to-day, and see if it is not a day of strange, 
almost curious, peace, so sweet that you will only 
be too thankful, when to-morrow comes, to ask 
him to take it also — till it will become a blessed 
habit to hold yourself simply and " wholly at 
thy commandment," for any manner of service. 
— " My King." 



75 



MARCH 10. 



Havergal. 



If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we 
have fellowship one with another, and the blood 
of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 
— i John i : 7. 

Fellowship and Cleansing. 

THE results of walking in the light are fel- 
lowship and cleansing. . . . This is not 
merely fellowship with other Christians, though 
that with all its warmth and pleasantness is no 
doubt included. But scholars tell us that the 
true meaning is that we and the Lord have fel- 
lowship with each other^ — a marvellous mutual 
interchange of sympathy, interest, and love. Fel- 
lowship implies a good deal more than mere 
friendship ; the word is really " communion " in 
its widest and yet closest sense. It is literally 
having all things in common. It is the Lord 
saying, " Thou art ever with me, and all that I 
have is thine." It is our responding, " My be- 
loved is mine, and I am his." 

But there can be no fellowship without cleans- 
ing. For how " can two walk together, except they 
be agreed " ? God never makes peace with sin. 
No armistice, no truce, no compromise, is possible. 
If you would read through Jeremiah or Ezekiel 
with your eyes open to observe what God thinks 
of sin, you would be startled. . . . But, thank 
God, the " blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us 
from all sin." "All" that separated between 
you and God is put away by it, and fellowship is 
unbroken. — "The Royal Invitation." 



Havergal. 



MARCH II. 



Let my lord the king now speak. — 2 Sam. 
14:18. 

Listening to the King. 

ARE we not apt to think more of speaking 
to the King than of the King speaking to 
us ? We pour out our hearts before him, and 
tell him all the sins and all the needs, all the 
joys and all the sorrows, till the very telling 
seems almost an answer, because it brings such 
a sense of relief. It is very sweet, very comfort- 
ing to do this. 

But this is only half-communion, and we miss 
a great deal of unknown blessing by being con- 
tent with this one-sided audience. 

What about last time we knelt in prayer ? 
Surely he had more to say to us than we -had to 
say to him, and yet we never waited to see ! We 
rushed away from our King's presence as soon 
as we had said our say, and vaguely expected 
him to send his answers after us somehow and 
sometime, but not then and there. What wonder 
if they have not reached us yet ? If Mary had 
talked to the Lord Jesus all the time she sat at 
his feet, she would not have " heard his word." 

Not that we should pray less, but listen more. 
We may miss the sweetest whispers of his love 
by not saying, " Speak, Lord," and not hushing 
ourselves to "hear what God the Lord will 
speak." We cannot hear his " still small voice " 
during a torrent of hurried petition. — " My 
King." 



77 



MARCH 12. 



Havergal. 



Pray one for another. — Jas. 5:16. 

Intercession. 

UNLESS a heart has reached the terrible 
hardening of being " without natural affec- 
tion," as well as " without God," it must want to 
pray for those it loves. It is a plant which the 
Lord has planted in the human heart. . . . In- 
tercession should be definite and detailed, and 
it is a practical help to make it systematic, espe- 
cially if the Lord gives us many to pray for. If 
every day has its list of special names to be re- 
membered, we shall be less likely to forget or 
drop them. Each several name was engraved 
on the breastplate of the high priest, that it 
might be borne upon his heart continually. . . . 
We may be greatly "helping together in prayer," 
by agreement in intercession. The very fact of 
having " agreed " is a great stimulus and re- 
minder. It is the Lord's own indicated way, 
" Two of you.". . . Intercession is a wonderful 
help to forgiveness of injuries. See how the 
personal unkindness of brother and sister stirred 
up Moses to pray for each ; and how repeatedly 
the wrong feeling, speaking, and acting of the 
people against himself was made the occasion of 
prayer for them. Also it is an immense help to 
love. Do we not find that the more we pray for 
any one, the more we love ? — " Royal Com- 
mandments." 



78 



Havergal. 



MARCH 13. 



And Jesus answered and said unto him, What 
wilt thou that I should do unto thee ? — Mark 
10 : 51. 

A Prayer Calendar. 

Subjects for Prayer, 1878-7Q. (Found in F R. 
H.'s Bible?) 

I HAVE greatly enjoyed the regular praying 
of the Lord's Prayer, and take a petition 
each morning in the week. Intercession for 
others I generally make at evening. I take the 
fruits of the Holy Spirit in the same way, and 
find this helpful. 

GENERAL. 



MORNING. 

For the Holy Spirit. 
Perfect trust all day. 
Watchfulness. 
To be kept from sin. 
That I may please him. 
Guidance, growth in grace. 
That I may do his will. 
That he would use my mind, lips, 
pen, all. 

Blessing and guidance in each en- 
gagement and interview of the 
day. 



EVENING. 

For forgiveness and cleansing. 
Mistakes overruled. 
Blessings on all said, written, and 
done. 

For conformity to his will and 

Christ's likeness. 
That his will may be done in me. 
For a holy night. 
Confession. 

For every one for whom I have 
been asked specially to pray. 



Special Subjects. 
Sunday. 

That I may make the most of Sabbath hours, 
and gain much from the Word. 

Deliverance from wandering thoughts. 
Pure praise. 

Blessings on services and choir. 



79 



MARCH 13. 



Havergal. 



" Hallowed be thy name." 

Intercession. (Initials of many clergymen, of her 
brother, her godchildren, and " our servants.") 

Monday. " For Joy and Peace." 

That the life of Jesus may be manifest in me. 

" Thy kingdom come." 

Intercession for Church Missionary Society and 
Irish Society. (Initials of her eldest sister, all 
her family, and " Oakhampton servants.") 

Tuesday. " For Long-suffering" 

That my unconscious influence may be all for 
him. 

" Thy will be done." 

Intercession for Mildmay. (Initials of her 
brother Henry's children and many Leamington 
friends.) 

Wednesday. " Gentleness" 

For spirit of prayer and shadowless commun- 
ion. 

" Give us this day our daily bread." 

Intercession for the universities and public 
schools, for many friends, for M. V. G. H., and 
E. C. 

80 



Havergal. 



MARCH 13. 



Thursday. " Goodness" 

For much fruit to his praise. Soul-winning. 
Spirit of praise. 

" Forgive us our trespasses." 

Local work. Swansea, and Mrs. M . For 

my sister Ellen, all at Winterdyne and " the ser- 
vants." 

Friday. " Faith? 

Wisdom to be shown more of his will and 
commands. 

" Lead us not into temptation." 

For my brother and all at U. B. 



Saturday. "Meekness and Temperance? 

That the word of Christ may dwell in me 
richly. Open treasures of thy word to me, and fill 
my seed-basket. 

" Deliver us from evil." 

For the Church of England and the Queen. 
Initials of many friends. — " Memorials of 
F. R. H." 

81 



MARCH 14. 



Havergal. 



Search the Scriptures. — John 5 : 39. 



Hints about Bible=study. 

TO her niece Cecilia, Miss Havergal wrote : 
" In reading Scripture it is best to combine 
plans. Once a day read straight on, with prayer 
and careful referencing. Always try to give, a 
half-hour to Bible-study ; work out Bible subjects, 
and make notes of them. I will give you two or 
three which I have found profitable. What does 



"Everlasting" Search out and classify the 
places where it is used. This is very comfort- 
ing, " everlasting covenant," " everlasting joy," 
etc. 

"Called." How is our " calling " described? 
Unto what are we called ? 

" Keep" Who will keep ? Whom does he 
keep ? From what does he keep ? 

"Able" See how applied to Christ; arrange 
in order. 

Keep a fine steel pen on purpose at hand, and 
mark the references you thus find in your own 
Bible ; this will greatly enrich it. . . . This plan 
is very helpful both for intellectual and spirit- 
ual knowledge of his word. — " Memorials of 



the Bible say God is 



( in himself ? 
I to us ? 



F. R. H. 



82 



Havergal. 



MARCH 15. 



Come now. 



Isa. 1 : 18. 




OME now. 



Danger in Delay. 

ir." "Now " does not mean to-mor- 



row. To-day, if you will hear his voice, 
harden not your hearts. 

Put yourself to it ; what if this night God should 
require your soul of you, and you had not " come " ? 
What if the summons find you still far off, 
when the precious blood was ready, by which you 
might have been made nigh ? You do not know 
what a day may bring forth. There are plenty 
of things besides immediate death which may 
just as effectually prevent your ever coming at 
all if you do not come now. This might be your 
last free hour for coming. To-morrow the call 
may seem less urgent, and the "other things 
entering in " may deaden it, and the grieved 
Spirit may withdraw and cease to give you even 
your present inclination to listen to it, and so you 
may drift on and on, farther and farther from the 
haven of safety (into which you may enter now if 
you will), till it is out of sight on the horizon. 
And then it may be too late to turn the helm, 
and the current may be too strong ; and when the 
storm of mortal illness comes at last, you may 
find that you are too weak mentally or physically 
to rouse yourself even to hear. Do not risk it. 
Come now. — "The Royal Invitation." 



83 



MARCH 1 6. 



Haver gal 



Come and follow me. — Matt. 19 : 21. 



Following. 



OLLOWING is the only proof of coming. 



JL • • • Following is not standing still. You 
cannot follow one thing without coming away 
from something else. What have you left for 
Jesus ? What have you left off doing for his 
sake ? If you are moving onward, some things 
must be left behind. What are the things that 
are left behind in your life ? If the coming has 
made no difference in your practical daily life, do 
not flatter yourself that you have ever really come 
at all. . . . 

Then look at the positive side. He has left 
us " an example that ye should follow his steps." 
As the beautiful collect puts it, " Give us grace 
that we may daily endeavor ourselves to follow 
the blessed steps of his most holy life." Now 
what are these steps ? ... If you would only 
take one Gospel, and read it through with the 
earnest purpose of noting, by the Holy Spirit's 
guidance, what the steps of Jesus are, you would 
see clearly whether you are following or not. 
Take for to-day only one indication of what those 
steps were. "Who went about doing good."' 
Do your steps correspond with that ? It is not, 
" went about doing no harm," but actively and 
positively "doing good." — " The Royal Invi- 
tation." 




84 



Havergal. 



MARCH 17. 



And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And 
let him that heareth say, Come. — Rev. 22 : 17. 



Our Commission. 

HERE is our commission. " Let him that 
heareth say, Come/'. . . Not, Are you a fit 
and polished instrument ? not, Are you a practical 
worker ? not, Are you already a trained soldier ? 
not, Have you a special gift of speech or pen? 
but simply and solely, Have you heard for your- 
self that one sweet call, " Come ? . . 

You are to "say, Come." Are you saying 
it ? Not, Are you exercising a general good 
influence ? not, Do you try to lead and keep the 
conversation in profitable channels ? not, Do you 
speak about " good things " or even about Christ ? 
not, Are you giving time and money to the further- 
ance of some branch of his work — you may be 
doing all this, and yet be distinctly disobeying 
his command. You are missing the present 
privilege and unspeakable happiness of winning 
souls, and foregoing the glorious reward annexed 
to it. For, assuredly, it is those who are literally 
saying " Come," who are really " turning many 
to righteousness ; " not because they are more 
gifted, but because God's powerful blessing is 
given with their obedience to his definite com- 
mand. — " Royal Commandments." 



85 



MARCH 1 8. 



Havergal. 



Go ye into all the world, and preach the gos- 
pel to even- creature. — Mark 16 : 15. 



O " does not mean. " Send.*' " Go " does 



V^jy not mean. " Pray." " Go " means, u Go .'" 
simply and literally. Suppose the disciples had 
been willing to take this command as most of us 
take it. Suppose three or four of them had 
formed a committee : and the rest had said, " You 
see if you can find a few suitable men to train 
and send to Rome, and Libya, and Parthia ; and 
we will see what we can do about collecting 
funds, and anyhow subscribing a penny a week 
or a pound a year ourselves " ! How would the 
good tidings of great joy. and the glorious news 
of the resurrection, have spread at that rate ? 
But they did not subscribe ; they went ! Hap- 
pily, they had not silver and gold to give, and 
so they gave themselves to their Lord and to his 
great work. The company of those that publish 
the word of God is very small in proportion to 
the number that are perishing for lack of knowl- 
edge. . . . Yet thousands who have "freely re- 
ceived" salvation for themselves are not ready 
to "freely give" themselves to their Saviour's 
one great work ; not ready even to take the mat- 
ter into consideration ; not ready even to think of 
turning aside out of their chosen profession, or 
their comfortable home life. Yet the command, 
the last that ever fell from his gracious lips, still 
rings on, and it is, "Go/" — "Marching Or- 
ders." 



" Go ! " 




86 



Havergal. 



MARCH 19. 



When he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth 
before them. — John 10:4. 

Putting Forth the Sheep. 

IT is to Christ's own sheep that this promise 
applies, simply those who believe and hear 
his voice. It is when he puts them forth that it 
comes true ; not when they put themselves forth, 
or when they let a stranger lure them forth, or 
such traitors as self-cowardice or impatience 
drive them forth. 

Sometimes it is a literal putting forth. The 
home nest is stirred up, and we have to go (it 
may be only for a few days, it may be for years, 
it may be for the rest of our lives) into less con- 
genial surroundings. We do not put ourselves 
forth, we would rather stay ; but it has to be. 
But Jesus " goeth before." He prepares the 
earthly as well as the heavenly places for us. 
He will be there when we get to the new place. 
Sometimes it is putting forth into service. We 
had such a nice little quiet shady corner in the 
vineyard, down among the tender grapes, with 
such easy little weedings and waterings to attend 
to. Then the Master comes and draws us into 
the thick of the work, and puts us into a field 
where we should never have thought of going. . . . 
But would we go back ? He would not be in the 
old shady corner with us now, for when he put 
us forth, he went before us. — " Royal Bounty." 



87 



march 20. 



Havergal. 



The king's business required haste. — i Sam. 
21 : 8. 

Our Father's Business. 

AND yet there is no other business about 
which average Christians take it so easy. 
They must go their usual round, they must write 
their letters, they must pay off their visits and 
other social claims, they m?/st do all that is ex- 
pected of them ; and then, after this and that and 
the other thing is cleared off, they will do what 
they can of the King's business. 

The King's business requires haste. It is 
always pressing, and may never be put off. 
Much of it has to do with souls which may be 
in eternity to-morrow, and with opportunities 
that are gone forever if not used then and 
there; there is no convenient season for it but 
"to-day.". . . We meet an unconverted friend 
again and again, and beat about the bush, and 
think to gain quiet influence and make way 
gradually, and call it judicious not to be in a 
hurry, when the real reason is that we are want- 
ing in holy eagerness and courage to do the 
King's true business with that soul, and in nine 
cases out of ten nothing ever comes out of it. 
Delay in the Lord's errands is next to disobedi- 
ence, and . . . we never know what punishment 
and regret it may bring upon ourselves. — " My 
King." 



ss 



Havergal. 



MARCH 21. 



Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him : 
fret not thyself. — Ps. 37 : 7. 

Waiting Patiently. 

DID you ever hear of any one being much 
used for Christ who did not have some 
special waiting time, some complete upset of all 
his or her plans first ; from St. Paul's being sent 
off into the desert of Arabia for three years, 
when he must have been boiling over with the 
glad tidings, down to the present day ? You 
were looking forward to tell about trusting Jesus 
in Syria ; now he says, " I want you to show 
what it is to trust me, without waiting for Syria." 

My own case is far less severe, but the same 
in principle, that when I thought the door was 
flung open for me to go with a bound into liter- 
ary work, it is opposed, and doctor steps in and 
says, simply, " Never ! She must choose between 
writing and living; she can't do both." That 
was in i860. Then I came out of the shell with 
" Ministry of Song " in 1869, and saw the evident 
wisdom of being kept waiting nine years in the 
shade. 

God's love being unchangeable, he is just as 
loving when we do not see or feel his love. 
Also his love and his sovereignty are coequal 
and universal ; so he withholds the enjoyment 
and conscious progress, because he knows best 
what will really ripen and further his work in us. 
— "Memorials of F. R. H." 



89 



MARCH 22. 



Havergal. 



Now no chastening for the present seemeth to 
be joyous, but grievous : nevertheless afterward 
it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness 
unto them which are exercised thereby. — Heb. 
12 : II. 

Peaceable Fruit of Chastening. 

THERE are some promises which we are 
apt to reserve for great occasions, and 
thus lose the continual comfort of them. Per- 
haps we read this one with a sigh and say, 
" How beautiful this is for those whom the Lord 
is really chastening ! But the things that try 
me are only the little things that turn up every 
day to trouble and depress me." Well, now, does 
the Lord specify what degree of trouble or what 
kind of trouble is great enough to make up a 
claim to the promise ? He only defines it as 
" not joyous, but grievous." Perhaps there have 
been a dozen different things to-day that were 
" not joyous, but grievous." . . . Apply it to 
these. The particular annoyance which befell 
you this morning ; the vexatious words which 
met your ear and grieved your spirit; the dis- 
appointment which was his appointment for 
to-day ; the slight, but hindering ailment ; the 
presence of some one who is a grief of mind to 
you. 

What shall thine afterward be, O Lord ? 

I wonder and wait to see 
(While to thy chastening hand I bow) 
What peaceable fruit may be ripening now, 

Ripening fast for thee ! 

— " Royal Bounty." 



90 



Havergal. 



MARCH 23. 



Bless the Lord, O my soul . . . who crowneth 
thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies. — 
Ps. 103:2, 4. They are new every morning. — 
Lam. 3 : 23. 



Counting Our Mercies. 

THANKS for the charming journal you sent 
me ; I like it greatly. I will put down 
whichever " mercy " seems uppermost in my mind 
for each day ; not one in a thousand, though ! — 
From a Letter to a Friend. 



a few entries from f. r. h.'s " journal of 
mercies" for 1879. 

Jan. 4. Opportunities of speaking of Christ. 

" 11. Having money to give away. 

" 12. Finding great spoil in the Word. 

" 17. A little respite from letter-writing. 

" 18. Milder and beautiful weather. 

" 30. Kindness from Mr. and Mrs. W . 

Feb. 2. A happy Sunday. 

" 4. Immediate answers to prayer. 

" 5. Strength for extra pulls. 

" 16. Frustration of plans and solemn lessons. 

" 18. Our good maid, Mary Farrington. 
Mar. 12. Special application of 1 Pet. 4 : 14. 

" 18. Clear views of Jesus. 

" 20. H converted and O P con- 
secrated. 

These entries are a mirror of her very self ; 
" in everything give thanks." — " Memorials of 
F. R. H." 



91 



MARCH 24. 



Havergal. 



Lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. — 
1 Cor. 9:12. 

Hindering. 

MANY an active and willing helper in the 
church is too often an unconscious hin- 
derer of the gospel. Let us each try to find out 
how we may have hindered, that we may do so 
no more. 

Disappointment, ailment, or even weather, de- 
presses us ; and our look or tone of depression 
hinders others from maintaining a cheerful or 
thankful spirit. We let out a fearing or dis- 
couraging remark, and another's hope and zeal 
is wet-blanketed. . . . 

We miss an opportunity of speaking a word for 
Jesus ; and our pleasant, commonplace talk has 
checked a half-formed wish for something better. 
. . . We make a critical remark about a preacher 
or writer, and it is brought back by the enemy at 
the very moment when a word in season was 
about to find entrance. " Them that were enter- 
ing in, ye hindered," — O, terrible condemnation ! 

Shall we not watch and pray that this day we 
may only help and not hinder in the least thing, 
and that no one may have to say to us. " Hinder 
me not " ? May we never be helpers of the great 
hinderer! . . . What if the Lord should ask 
each one hindered, " Who did hinder you ? " — 
are our consciences sure that our names would 
escape mention ? — " Royal Commandments." 



92 



Havergal. 



MARCH 25. 



Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 
— 1 Cor. 10 : 31. 



" Clothes and the King's Daughter." 

THE outer should be the expression of the 
inner, not an ugly mask or disguise. If 
the King's daughter is to be " all glorious within," 
she must not be outwardly a fright ! I must dress 
both as a lady and as a Christian. The question 
of cost I see very strongly, and do not consider 
myself at liberty to spend on dress that which 
might be spared for God's work ; but it costs no 
more to have a thing well and prettily made, and 
I should feel justified in getting a costly dress if 
it would last proportionately longer. When work- 
ing among strangers, if I dressed below par, it 
would attract attention and might excite opposi- 
tion ; by dressing unremarkably, and yet with a 
general pleasing effect, no attention is distracted. 
Also, what is suitable in one house is not so in 
another, and it would be almost an insult to 
appear at dinner among some of my relations 
and friends in what I could wear without apology 
at home ; it would be an actual breach of the rule, 
" Be courteous " ; also I should not think it right 
to appear among wedding guests in a dress which 
would be perfectly suitable for wearing to the 
Infirmary. But I shall always ask for guidance 
in all things. — " Memorials of F. R. H." 



93 



MARCH 26. 



Havergal. 



Let your light so shine before men, that they 
may see your good works, and glorify your Father 
which is in heaven. — Matt. 5:16. 



Shining. 

Are you shining for Jesus, dear one, 

So that the holy light 
May enter the hearts of others, 

And make them glad and bright ? 
Have you spoken a word for Jesus, 

And told to some around, 
Who do not care about him, 

What a Saviour you have found? 
Have you lighted the lamp for others, 

That has guided your own glad feet? 
Have you echoed the loving message, 

That seemed to you so sw T eet? 

Are you shining for Jesus, dear one, — 

Shining just everywhere, 
Not only in easy places, 

Not only just here and there ? 
Shining in happy gatherings, 

Where all are loved and known? 
Shining where all are strangers ? 

Shining when quite alone ? 
Shining at home and making 

True sunshine all around ? 
Shining abroad, and faithful — 

Perhaps among faithless — found ? 

— " Loyal Responses." 



94 



Havergal. 



MARCH 27. 



Lo, I am with you alway. — Matt. 28 : 20. 



The Divine Remembrances. 

ARE you a disciple of the Lord Jesus at all ? 
If so, he says to you, " I am with you 
alway." At this moment, as surely as your 
eyes rest on this page, so surely is the Lord Jesus 
with you. . . . We have only to believe it and to 
recollect it. 

The first hindrance to the realization of this 
presence of Jesus is not believing his promise ; 
the second is not recollecting it, not " keeping it in 
memory." But we go forth from faith to forget- 
fulness, and there seems no help for it. Neither 
is there, in ourselves. Jesus himself had pro- 
vided against this before he gave the promise. 
He said that the Holy Spirit should bring all 
things to our remembrance. It is no use laying 
the blame on our poor memories, when the al- 
mighty Spirit is sent that he may strengthen 
them. Let us make real use of this promise, and 
we shall certainly find it sufficient for the need it 
meets. He can and he will give us a holy and 
blessed recollectedness. . . . Unbelief and forget- 
fulness are the only shadows which can come 
between us and our Lord's presence ; though 
when they have once made the separation, there 
is room for all others. — " Royal Bounty." 



95 



MARCH 28. 



Havergal. 



This do in remembrance of me. . . . For as 
often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye 
do show the Lord's death till he come. — 1 Cor. 
11 : 24, 26. 

Remembering Our Lord at His Table. 

IT is not simply, " This do:'' We may obey 
so far at each communion season, and yet 
never once have obeyed our Lord's dying wish 
or fulfilled his desire. He said, " This do in re- 
membrance of me." We cannot remember what 
we do not know. We must know the Lord Jesus 
Christ before we can truly remember him at his 
table ; for he does not say that we are to do it in 
remembrance of what he said or even what he 
did. We may remember what we have heard 
or read of Ridley and Latimer, and we might com- 
memorate their martyrdom ; but we cannot re- 
member them, because we never knew them, 
except as a matter of history. Without personal 
knowledge of him. there can be no true remem- 
brance of him in the Lord's Supper. . . . " Till 
he come!' So perhaps there will be some show- 
ing it forth at the very moment when he comes ! 
Luther said, " I feel as if Jesus Christ died yes- 
terday.''' So fresh, so vivid, be our love and 
thankfulness ! But may we add. " And as if he 
were coming to-day ! Then would our lives 
be rich in remembrance and radiant in anticipa- 
tion, " looking for that blessed hope, and the 
glorious appearing of the great God, and our 
Saviour Jesus Christ." — " Royal Command- 
ments." 



96 



Havergal. 



MARCH 29. 



Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, for- 
giving one another, even as God for Christ's sake 
hath forgiven you. — Eph. 4 : 32. 



Forgiving One Another. 

OME one may have somewhat against you, — 



^3 an old quarrel, or a fresh misunderstanding, 
— and you are too proud to acknowledge your 
fault, or your share of it ; or you are too timid 
or too idle to do so. When there are faults 
on both sides, it is often the one most in fault 
who is the least ready to forgive. Now do look 
into the matter, and see if you are truly " in love 
and charity with all men.". . . Christ has said, 
" But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, 
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." 
There is no evading this. There is absolutely 
no forgiveness for you, if you do not forgive. 

And it is no use one saying, " Well, I will for- 
give, but I can't forget ! " You know quite well 
in your heart that the very tone in which you say 
that, shows that you are not really forgiving. 

Don't turn around fiercely and say, " But if 
I can't, I can't ! ". . . Read the 45 th of Genesis, 
and see how Joseph forgave. Then look at the 
still greater example of perfect forgiveness — 
hear the smitten King in his lonely death-agony 
saying, " Father, forgive them ! " O, it is not 
hard to forgive anything, when one looks away 
to the forgiveness of Jesus. — " The Royal 
Invitation." 




97 



MARCH 30. 



Havergal. 



Search me, O God, and know my heart : try 
me, and know my thoughts : and see if there be 
any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way 
everlasting. — Ps. 139 : 23, 24. 



Heart=searching. 

I THINK we must very humbly and utterly 
honestly search and try our ways before our 
God, or rather, as we shall soon realize our help- 
lessness to make such a search, ask him to do it 
for us, praying for his promised Spirit to show 
us unmistakably if there is any secret thing with 
us that is hindering both the inflow and the out- 
flow of his grace to us and through us. Do not 
let us shrink from some unexpected flash into 
a dark corner ; do not let us wince at the sudden 
touching of a hidden plague-spot. The Lord al- 
ways does his own work thoroughly if we only let 
him do it ; if we put our case into his hands, he 
will search and prove fully and firmly, though very 
tenderly. Very painfully, it may be, but only 
that he may do the very thing we want, — cleanse 
us and heal us thoroughly, so that we may set off 
to walk in real newness of life. But if we do 
not put it unreservedly into his hands, it will 
be no use thinking or talking about our lives' 
being consecrated to him. The heart that is not 
intrusted to him for searching will not be under- 
taken by him for cleansing. — " Kept for the 
Master's Use." 



98 



Havergal. 



MARCH 31. 



Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; 
prove your own selves. — 2 Cor. 13:5. 

Renewing Consecration. 

I HAD a great time this morning renewing the 
never-regretted consecration. I seemed led 
to run over the " Take my life," and could bless 
him verse by verse for having led me on to much 
more definite consecration than even when I 
wrote it, voice, gold, intellect, etc. But the 
eleventh couplet, "love," — that has been un- 
consciously not filled up. Somehow I felt mysti- 
fied and out of my depth here : to settle the 
voice, or silver and gold, was a simple and definite 
thing to be done, but " love " ? . . . Of course I 
told him all that was in my heart as far down 
as ever I knew it myself, and that he knew the 
rest, and I could only hand over the whole con- 
cern to him. I don't see much clearer or feel 
much different ; but I have said intensely this 
morning, " Take my love," and he knows I have. 
So I did not fidget any more, or worry the Master 
about it any more. I shall just go forward and 
let my life from this day really answer to that 
couplet. The worst part to me is, that I don't 
in practice prove my love to him, by delight 
in much and long communion with him ; hands 
and head seem so full of other things (which 
yet are his given work) that "heart" seems 
not " free to serve " in fresh and vivid love. — 
" Memorials of F. R. H." 



99 



APRIL 

WITH 

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON. 



REV. C. H. SPURGEON. 

April. 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL I. 



And this is life eternal, that they might know 
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
thou hast sent. — John 17:3. 

Knowing God. 

NOW, what knowest thou of God ? Hast 
thou ever spoken with him? Has he 
spoken to thee? Hast thou told him thy se- 
crets ? Has he revealed himself to thee, as it 
is written, " The secret of the Lord is with them 
that fear him, and he will show them his cove- 
nant " ? Now I am not talking about fancies. If 
any of you deem this to be fanciful, it is because 
you are strangers to the covenant of promise ; 
but I am speaking now to people who know 
more than I can tell them of what this means. 
As for myself, I know something of nature, and 
of the works of God's hands, but my soul cares 
little for that knowledge compared with knowing 
him. Willingly and gladly would I forget all 
else I know, if I might but know more of him ; 
for well I am persuaded that when old age comes 
on, and memory fails me, that which my soul 
shall hold as with a death-grip will not be his- 
torical remembrance, classical lore, or theological 
learning, but what she knows by inward experi- 
ence of the Lord her God. When the veil shall 
drop upon all mortal shadows, to be uplifted 
upon eternal realities, then my heart shall care 
nothing for what she knew of things terrestrial ; 
but she shall value beyond conception what she 
shall then know of the Immortal, the Invisible, 
the only wise God, her Saviour. 



103 



APRIL 2. 



Spurgeon. 



But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. — Rom. 
13:14. 

Christ Put On. 

PUT on the Lord Jesus Christ for daily wear ; 
not for high days and holy days only, but 
for all time and every time. Put on the Lord 
Jesus Christ on the Lord's Day ; but do not lay 
him aside during the week. Ladies have orna- 
ments which they put on occasionally for display 
on grand occasions ; as a^ rule these jewels are 
hidden away in a jewel-case. Christians, you 
must wear your jewels always. Put on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and have no casket in which to 
conceal any part of him. . . . Thank God, we 
have in our Lord a dress which we may always 
wear ! We can live in it, and die in it ; we can 
work in it, and rest in it ; and, like the raiment of 
Israel in the wilderness, it will never wax old. 
Put on the Lord Jesus Christ more and more. 

Put on the Lord in every time of trial. Do 
not take him off when it comes to the test. 
Quaint Henry Smith says that some people 
wear the Lord Jesus as a man wears his hat, 
which he takes off to everybody he meets. I am 
afraid I know persons of that kind, who wear 
Christ in private, but they off with him in com- 
pany, especially in the company of the worldly, 
the sarcastic, and the unbelieving. Put on 
Christ, intending never to put him off again. 
When tempted, tried, ridiculed, hear in your 
ear this voice, " Put ye on the Lord Jesus 
Christ." Put him on the more as others tempt 
you to put him off. 

104 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 3. 



He shall glorify me : for he shall receive of 
mine, and shall show it unto you. — John 16 : 14. 

The Holy Spirit Glorifying Christ. 



HE needs pi spiritual men are very great, 



X but they cannot be greater than the power 
of the divine Trinity is able to meet. We have 
one God, — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, — one 
in three, and three in one; and that blessed 
Trinity in unity gives himself to sinners. . . . 
Every good thing a sinner wants is in the Father 
first ; and the Father puts all things into Christ. 
" It pleased the Father that in him should all 
fulness dwell." Now you can get to Christ, 
because he is man as well as God. But I hear a 
poor soul say : " But I cannot even get to Christ ; 
I am blind and lame. If I could get to him he 
would open my eyes.". . . Here comes in the 
work of the Holy Spirit. It is his office to take of 
the things of Christ and show them unto saints 
and sinners, too. We cannot see them, but we 
shall soon enough, when he shows them unto us. 
. . . O, what a blessed Person he is ! not merely 
a sacred influence but a divine person, " very 
God of very God." He is the Spirit of holiness 
to be reverenced, to be spoken of with delight, 
yet with trembling ; for remember, there is a sin 
against the Holy Ghost. . . . Therefore rever- 
ence, honor, and worship God the Holy Spirit, in 
whom lies the only hope that any of us can ever 
have of seeing Jesus, and so of seeing God the 
Father. 




APRIL 4. 



Spurgeon. 



It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh prof- 
iteth nothing. — John 6 : 63. 



i some great Christians that grew to have 
much fellowship with Christ by prayer. Perhaps 
you imbibed the idea that if you were to go 
home and spend as many hours in your closet as 
they did, you would get much profit by it ; and, 
not thinking about the Holy Spirit, you simply 
devote yourself to your closet as you would to 
any manual exercise, with a hope of profiting by 
the closet alone. I tell you, you might be on 
your knees till your knees were bare, and you 
might be in your closet till the steam of your de- 
votion ran down the walls ; but unless the Spirit 
of the Lord was in that closet with you, the mere 
fleshly exercise of praying would no more avail 
you and profit you, than if you had been chant- 
ing songs to the moon, or standing in the street 
to sell your goods. . . . You hear that another 
man meditates on God's law day and night, and 
becomes like a tree planted by the rivers of 
water. You say, " I will take care that every 
morning I will read a chapter, and that every 
night I will read two chapters." There are cer- 
tain people who think if they read a good long 
bit of Bible they 've done a good deal. . . . One 
bit of Bible prayed over, and bedewed with the 
Spirit, and made alive, though it be only a short 
sentence of six words, will profit you more than a 
hundred chapters without the Spirit. 




Spiritual Devotion. 

sometimes read, dear friends, of 



106 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 5. 



Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to 
you. — Jas. 4:8. It is good for me to draw near 
to God. — Ps. 73 : 28. 

Drawing Near to God. 

THERE are many ways by which the true 
believer can " draw near to God." The 
gates of the King's palace are many ; and through 
the love of Jesus, and the grace of his Spirit, it 
is our delight, by any of these gates of pearl, to 
enter and approach our heavenly Father. Fore- 
most among these is communion, that converse 
which man holds with God ; that state of near- 
ness to God in which our mutual secrets are 
revealed, — our hearts being open unto him, his 
heart being manifested to us. Here it is we see 
the invisible and hear the unutterable. The out- 
ward symbol of fellowship is the sacred Supper 
of the Lord, at which, by means of simple em- 
blems, we are divinely enabled to feed, after a 
spiritual sort, upon the flesh and blood of the 
Redeemer. This is a golden gate of fellowship, 
a royal road which our feet delight to tread. 
Blessed are the feet that tread this sunny path- 
way. But we may as truly draw near to God, if 
with sighs and tears we tread the pathway of 
penitence, when our desolate spirit longs for his 
sacred presence. . . . Equally does a firm trust 
" draw near to God," for it clings to him. So 
often as we read the promise in Holy Scripture 
and are enabled to receive it and rest upon it, 
do we really " draw near " to him. Nevertheless, 
prayer is the best means of drawing near to God. 



107 



APRIL 6. 



Spurgeon. 



My prayer returned into mine own bosom. — 
PS. 35 : 13. 

Drawing Near to God in Prayer. 

/" 'Jf A VE you in your prayer drawn near to God? 
J[ j[ When you have been on your knees in 
the morning, have you thought that you 
were talking to the King of heaven and earth ? 
Have you breathed your desires, not to wander- 
ing winds, but to the ear of the Eternal ? Have 
you desired to come to him, and tell him of 
your wants, and have you sought at his hand the 
answer to your requests ? Remember you have 
not prayed successfully or acceptably unless you 
have endeavored to draw near to God. Sup- 
pose now, to take a case, that I should desire 
some favor of a friend. I shut myself up alone, 
and I commence delivering an oration, pleading 
earnestly for the boon I need. I repeat this at 
night, and so on, month after month. At last I 
meet my friend, and I tell him that I have been 
asking a favor of him, and that he has never 
answered my prayer. " Nay," said he, " I have 
never seen you ; you have never spoken to me." 
. . . Now mark, the case is parallel with your 
offering prayer without drawing near to God in it. 
You plead, but if you are not pleading with God, 
to what effect is your pleading ? You talk, but if 
you are not talking to a manifestly present God, 
to what effect is all your talking ? . . . You have 
not drawn near to God, and consequently your 
prayers, though they are multiplied by tens of 
thousands, are utterly valueless to your soul's 
benefit. 

ic8 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 7. 



Your iniquities have separated between you 
and your God, and your sins have hid his face 
from you. — Isa. 59 : 2. 



Sin Breaks Fellowship. 

THERE are very many Christians in the 
world who do not see their Saviour's face 
by the month together, and seem quite content 
without his company. . . . Surely it must be an 
affliction for a tender child to be separated from 
his father. We know that in our childhood it 
was always so, and we looked to our return home 
with joy. And art thou a child of God, yet 
happy without seeing thy Father's face ? Surely, 
surely, surely thou hast fallen into a sad state. 
. . . Ask then the question, what has driven 
Christ from you ? He hides his face behind the 
wall of your sins. That wall may be built up of 
little pebbles as easily as of great stones. The 
sea is made up of drops, the rocks are made up 
of grains ; and, ah ! surely the sea which divides 
thee from Christ may be filled with the drops of 
thy little sins ; and the rock which is to wreck thy 
bark may have been made by daily working of 
the coral insects of thy little sins. Therefore, 
take heed thereunto ; for if thou wouldst live 
with Christ, and walk with Christ, and see Christ, 
and have fellowship with Christ, take heed, I 
pray thee, of the little foxes that spoil the vines, 
for our vines have tender grapes. 



109 



APRIL 8. 



Spurgeon. 



When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. — 
Pro v. 6:22. 

The Talking Book. 

talk signifies fellowship, communion, 



X familiarity. The text does not say, " It 
shall preach to thee.". . . The Word of God 
talks with us in the sense of being familiar. Do 
we understand this ? Who, then, that finds God's 
Word so dear and kind a friend, would forget or 
neglect it ? If any of you have despised it, what 
shall I say to you ? If it were a dreary book, 
written within and without with curses and lam- 
entations, whose every letter flashed with decla- 
rations of vengeance, I might see some reason 
why you should neglect it ; but O precious, price- 
less companion, dear friend of all my sorrows, 
making my bed in my sickness, the light of my 
darkness, and the joy of my soul, how can I for- 
get thee ? how can I forsake thee ? I have heard 
of one who said that the dust on some men's 
Bibles lay so thick and long that you might write 
" Damnation " on it. . . . Let us take care how 
we trifle with this book, which is so instinct with 
life. Are you habitual students of the Holy 
Writ ? Readers of it I believe you are, but are 
you searchers ? The blessing is not for those 
who merely read, but for those who delight in 
the law of the Lord, and meditate therein both 
day and night. Are you sitting at the feet of 
Jesus, with his Word as your school-book ? If 
not, you lack very much of the blessing you might 
otherwise enjoy. 




no 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 9. 



O HOW love I thy law ! — Ps. 1 19 : 97. If any 
man shall take away from the words of the book 
of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out 
of the book of life, and out of the holy city. — 
Rev. 22 : 19. 

True Love for God's Word. 

IF you love the Bible, and talk out your love 
to it, the Bible will love you ! Embrace the 
Word of God, and the Word of God embraces 
you at once. When you prize its every letter, 
then it smiles upon you graciously, greets you 
with many welcomes, and treats you as an hon- 
ored guest. I am always sorry to be on bad terms 
with the Bible, for then I must be on bad terms with 
God. Whenever my creed does not square 
with God's Word, I think it is time to mould my 
creed into another form. As for God's words, 
they must not be touched with hammer or axe. 
O, the chiselling and cutting and hammering in 
certain commentaries to make God's Bible ortho- 
dox and systematic ! How much better to leave 
it alone ! The Word is right, and we are wrong, 
wherein we agree not with it. The teachings of 
God's Word are infallible, and must be rever- 
enced as such. Now when you love it so well 
that you would not alter a single line of it, and 
prize it so much that you would even die for the 
defence of one of its truths, then it is dear to 
you and you will be dear to it. It will henceforth 
unfold itself to you as it does not to the world. 
God grant us to love the Word and feed thereon, 
that we may live to the glory of God all our 
days ! Amen. 

m 



APRIL 10. 



Spurgeon. 



I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he 
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth : and 
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet 
in my flesh shall I see God. — Job 19: 25, 26. 

Departed Saints Yet Living. 

WE are not troubled with Sadducean doubts ; 
to us, seeing that Christ rose from the dead, 
it is a matter of certainty that all his followers 
must rise also ; and seeing that Jesus ever liveth, 
it is equally a matter of certainty to us that all 
the saints are still living, for he hath said, " Be- 
cause I live, ye shall live also." We who believe 
in Jesus should rise into an atmosphere more 
clear and warm than that of the sepulchre ; for 
the Lord Jesus hath abolished death, and brought 
life and immortality to light through the gospel. 
We are not sitting in the shadow of death, for 
eternal life has sprung up. Children of God, it 
is in the highest degree proper that you should 
think of things as your Father thinks of them ; 
and he saith that " all live unto God." Let us 
correct our phraseology by that of Scripture, and 
speak of departed saints as inspiration speaks of 
them. Then shall we come back to the simple 
child's talk which Wordsworth so sweetly turned 
into rhyme — " Master, we are seven ; " and in 
our family we shall number brothers and sisters 
and friends, whose bodies lie in the churchyard, 
and shall speak of those who have crossed the 
border, and passed within the veil, as still our 
own, and regard them as part and parcel of the 
one family in heaven and earth. 



112 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL II. 



All power is given unto me in heaven and in 
earth. — Matt. 28 : 18. 

The Source of Power. 

" A LL power is given unto me," says our 
2~\ divine Lord. Then, dear brethren, I 
think I can speak for you all when I say, We re- 
joice to have it so. It thrills my soul with 
rapture to think that he whom we love has all 
power. ... If I had a little power of my own, I 
might depend upon it and live apart from my 
Lord as long as I had an independent fortune. 
But if all power is in him, what have we to do, 
when we rise in the morning, to get through the 
day, but to wait upon him for power for the day ? 
. . . It is so blessed that all power shall be in him, 
because he is so easy of access. We can come so 
readily to him. You would find it hard to speak 
with a king or with a prince ; but you can speak 
with the King of kings in the dead of night ; you 
can lodge your petition with the Prince by the 
highway, or wherever you may be ; for all power 
is in him. That is where you can get it. There 
it is, that the poorest sinner may touch the hem 
of his garment and be made whole. It is there that 
the most tried saint, the most busy man, the man 
most deeply immersed in business, may just step 
aside a moment and get power from him in whom 
power is lodged. . . . We may come with bold- 
ness to him, that we may be " strengthened with 
all might, according to his glorious power." 



APRIL 12. 



Spurgeon. 



O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness : 
fear before him, all the earth. — Ps. 96 : 9. 

True Worship. 

WHAT a glory it is to have Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit manifesting the God- 
head in the midst of our assemblies, and blessing 
each one of us ? For God to dwell with us : what 
a condescending presence this is ! And will God in 
very truth dwell among men ? If the heaven of 
heavens cannot contain him, will he abide among 
his people ? He will ! He will ! Glory be to his 
name ! . . . What an awe this imparts to every 
true church of God ! You may go in and out of 
certain assemblies, and you may say, " Here 
we have beauty ! here we have adornment, 
musical, ecclesiastical, architectural, oratorical, 
and the like ! " But to my mind there is no 
worship like that which proceeds from a man 
when he feels, The Lord is here. What a hush 
comes over the soul ! Here is the place for the 
bated breath, the unsandalled foot, and the pros- 
trate spirit. Now we are on holy ground. ... In 
such a case the most fluent think it better to be 
silent ; for there is at times more expressiveness 
in absolute silence than in the fittest words. 
" How dreadful is this place ! This is none other 
but the house of God, and this is the gate of 
heaven." Why? Because Jacob had said, " Surely 
the Lord is in this place." We regard the lowli- 
est assemblies of the most illiterate people with 
solemn reverence if God be there ; we regard the 
largest assemblies of the wealthiest and most re- 
nowned with utter indifference if God be not there. 



114 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 13. 



The water that I shall give him shall be in 
him a well of water springing up into everlasting 
life. — John 4 : 14. 

Having the Source of Spiritual Life within Us, 

BELOVED friend, I pray you seek after a 
spiritual life which is not even dependent 
on outward ordinances. It is a great comfort to 
be able to hear the Word faithfully preached ; 
and if you can hear it, and do not hear it, you 
miss a great blessing, and incur grievous loss. 
But suppose you are placed where there is no 
preaching of the Word, then it will be a happy 
circumstance if your godliness can surmise such 
a deprivation. If you were away on some cattle 
ranche in America, far away from all religious 
worship, it would be a grand thing to be able to 
go to your Bible, and to your knees, and draw 
near to' God alone, and so grow strong enough 
to send your branches over the wall, by blessing 
others, and beginning to teach or preach for 
Christ. This is the true way in which vigorous 
life shows itself. 

I know that the Lord's Supper is a sacred ordi- 
nance, and I would have you come to the Lord's 
table as often as you can, for he hath said, " This 
do in remembrance of me ; " but if it shall come 
to pass that you are where no Christian person 
is near with whom you could break bread, may 
you have grace to feed on Jesus himself ! When 
the tokens of his flesh and blood are denied you, 
may you be driven to Jesus himself. 

"5 



APRIL 14. 



Spurgeon. 



As my Father hath sent me, even so send I 
you. — John 20 : 21. 

Our Mission. 

I JYu are to go and teach the ignorant, con- 



who are converted. We are to do this as part of 
our loyalty to him who is the King. We are to 
do it for him and with him. We are to expect 
him to come : not saying, " My Lord delayeth 
his coming," but expecting him soon to appear ; 
for I take it, brethren, that the great hope of the 
church is the second advent of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. There may be differences of form as to 
our expectation, but the whole church of God 
longs for the appearing and manifesting of the 
Son of God. We sigh from our very soul, " Come, 
Lord Jesus."'. . . We are to work as servants 
that look to their master for their reward ; as 
friends whose great delight it is to do this act of 
friendship — yea, of grateful love — towards him 
who poured out his soul unto death for them. . . . 
We shall never do this work aright, except as we 
get very near to our Master. We cannot teach 
what we have learned, and we cannot learn it so 
as to teach it well, unless we learn it of him. . . . 
We must live with Jesus. We must keep with 
Jesus. We cannot serve him else. The fellow- 
ship of Christ lies at the bottom of all true use- 
fulness. If thou art beginning to serve God, and 
thou art not enjoying the light of his counte- 
nance, leave thy gift at the altar, and go first and 
be reconciled to thy God. If there is any cloud 
between thee and thy Lord, attempt not to act as 
God's servant until that is put aw T ay. 




unconverted, and build up those 



116 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 15. 



They that be wise shall shine as the brightness 
of the firmament ; and they that turn many to 
righteousness as the stars forever and ever. — 
Dan. 12:3. 

A Lighter of Souls. 

COMING home one day my way lay up to 
the top of a steep hill. While I was on the 
lower ground, riding in a cab, I saw a light before 
me, and when I came near the hill, I marked 
that light gradually go up the hill, leaving a train 
of stars behind it. This line of new-born stars 
remained in the form of one lamp, and then 
another, and another. It reached from the foot 
of the hill to its summit. I did not see the lamp- 
lighter. I do not know his name, nor his age, 
nor his residence ; but I saw the lights which he 
had kindled, and these remained when he himself 
had gone away. As I rode along, I thought to 
myself, " How earnestly do I wish that my life 
may be spent in lighting one soul after another 
with the sacred flame of eternal life ! I would 
myself be as much as possible unseen while at 
my work, and would vanish into the eternal bril- 
liance above when my work is done." 

The taper which I hold in my hand is in itself 
a poor thing as an illuminator, but it can create 
quite a splendor in the room by the light which it 
has communicated to others. One lighted candle 
may suffice to set a hundred candles shining. It 
may light a much finer candle than itself. An- 
drew was not a very great personage, but he 
called his brother Peter, and led him to Jesus, 
and Peter was a host in himself. 



117 



APRIL 1 6. 



Spurgeon. 



He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing 
precious seed, shall doubtless come again with 
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. — Ps. 
126:6. 

Sowing in Tears, Reaping in Joy. 

THERE is a distinct connection between im- 
portunate agonizing and true success, the 
sowing in tears and the reaping in joy. We 
must all steep our teachings in tears, " when none 
but God is nigh," and their growth will surprise 
and delight us. Could any one wonder at Brain- 
erd's success, when his diary contains such notes 
as this : " Lord's Day, April 25th. — This morn- 
ing spent about two hours in sacred duties, and 
was enabled, more than ordinarily, to agonize 
for immortal souls : though it was early in the 
morning, and the sun scarcely shone at all, yet 
my body was quite wet with sweat." The secret 
of Luther's power lay in the same direction. 
Theodorus said of him : " I overheard him in 
prayer, but, good God, with what life and spirit 
did he pray ! It was with so much reverence as 
if he were speaking to God, yet with so much 
confidence as if he were speaking to his friend." 
My brethren, let me beseech you to be men of 
prayer. Great talents you may never have, but 
you will do well enough without them if you 
abound in intercession. If you do not pray over 
what you have sown, God's sovereignty may pos- 
sibly determine to give a blessing, but you have 
no right to expect it. and if it comes it will bring 
no comfort to your own heart. ... If we cannot 
prevail with men for God, we will at least en- 
deavor to prevail with God for men. 

118 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL I/. 



Pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy 
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee 
openly. — Matt. 6 : 6. 

Steeping the Seed. 

TWO laborers in God's harvest met each 
other, once upon a time, and they sat down 
to compare notes. One was a man of sorrowful 
spirit, and the other joyous, for God had given 
him the desire of his heart. The sad brother 
said, " Friend, I cannot understand how it is that 
everything you do is sure to prosper. . . . The 
seed sown has been of the same quality, for I 
have taken mine where you have taken yours, — 
from the common granary of Holy Scripture. 
But, alas ! my seed never springs up. I sow it, 
but it seems as if I sowed upon the waves. I 
never see a harvest". . . They talked long to- 
gether ; . . . they compared notes ; . . . they 
looked through all the laws of husbandry; but 
they could not solve the mystery. At last one 
said to the other, "I must retire." " Where- 
fore ? " said the other. " Why, this is the time, " 
said he, "when I go alone to steep my seed." 
" Steep your seed ! " said the other. ..." I 
understand not what you mean. How do you 
steep your seed, and in what mysterious mix- 
ture ? " " Brother," he said, " it is a composition 
made of one part of the tears of agony for the 
souls of men, and the other part of drops of the 
cordial of confidence in God as the nearer of 
prayer ; this mixture, if you drop your seed into 
it, hath a transcendent efficacy to quicken the 
growth of every grain, so that none of it is lost." 

119 



APRIL 1 8. 



Spurgeon. 



I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mer- 
cies of God, that ye present your bodies a living 
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your 
reasonable service. — Rom. 12: 1. 

The Joy of Full Consecration. 

IT is the happiest thing that can ever happen 
to a mortal man, to be dedicated to God ; it 
is the grandest posture in which a creature can 
stand, to be fully consecrated to his Creator ; it 
is the sweetest and happiest condition in which 
a heart can be, when it feels that it is redeemed 
of the Lord, and henceforth is not its own, but 
bought with a price. No song among sweet pas- 
torals can exceed in sweetness that heavenly 
canticle, " I am my beloved's and my beloved is 
mine." There is no greater joy than to know 
that the Lord has chosen us unto himself to be 
his peculiar heritage. Conscious of redemption 
by blood, and of separation unto Jehovah their 
God, "then sang Moses and the children of 
Israel this song unto the Lord." O, you that 
hope you are Christians, but have never yet 
taken this distinct step to avow yourselves to be 
wholly the Lord's ; O, you that have never come 
clean away from Egypt, and made the waters to 
roll between you and a guilty world, — you 
have delayed a joy which I trust you will not 
longer miss, lest that dreadful text be fulfilled in 
you, " Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of 
my words in this adulterous and sinful genera- 
tion, of him also shall the Son of man be 
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his 
Father with the holy angels." 



120 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 19. 



Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us ? Then 
said I, Here am I ; send me. — Isa. 6 : 8. 

The Divine Call for ilissionaries. 

BRETHREN, the heathen are perishing, and 
there is but one way of salvation for them. 
. . . While the world lieth under the curse of 
sin, the living God, who willeth not that any 
should perish, but that they should come to re- 
pentance, is seeking for heralds to proclaim his 
mercy ; he is asking even in pleading terms for 
some who will go forth to the dying millions and 
tell the wondrous story of his love — " Whom 
shall I send ? " As if to make the voice more 
powerful by a threefold utterance, we hear the 
sacred Trinity inquire, " Who will go for us ? " 
The Father asks, " Who will go for me, and invite 
my far-off children to return?" The Son in- 
quires, " Who will seek for me my redeemed, but 
wandering sheep ? " The Holy Spirit demands, 
" In whom shall I dwell, and through whom shall 
I speak, that I may convey life to the perishing 
multitudes ? " God, in the unity of his nature, 
crieth, " Whom shall I send ? " and in the trinity 
of his persons he asketh, "Who will go for us ? " 
. . . Alas, my God, are there no volunteers for 
thy service ? ... Sit down and listen to that sor- 
rowful, yet majestic, command, " Whom shall I 
send, and who will go for us ? " and then respond, 
" Ready, ay, ready, for anything to which our 
Redeemer calls us." Let those who love him, as 
they perceive the world's dying need, cry out in 
agony of Christian love, " Here am I ; send me." 



121 



APRIL 20. 



Spurgeon. 



Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered 
willingly, because with perfect heart they offered 
willingly to the Lord. — i Chron. 29 : 9. 

Giving for Missions. 

I AM persuaded that we must rise to a higher 
style of giving before the Lord will ever bless 
the nations through us to any extent. Was not 
that well said, that our luxuries cost us more 
than our Lord ? Will you think of that, some 
of you ? Will you see if it is not true ? . . . The 
first consideration of a Christian man ought to 
be, " How much can I do for Christ ? " He pays 
his way, of course ; but that being done, he says 
to himself, " I must cut down everything but my 
Lord. If I belong to him, and all that I have, 
for him I must live.". . . Some who have tried 
it do confess that the more they give, the more 
they have ; and better still, they do not glory in 
having more, since it only brings more respon- 
sibility ; but it gives them joy and peace to be 
able to consecrate their substance to the Lord. 
The heathen are perishing ! Are you going to 
accumulate money ? The heathen are perishing ! 
they are sinking into hell ! You believe in no 
higher hope by which they will come out of it. . . . 
Shall you look out for accumulating a fortune, 
getting your name into the paper as having died 
worth so much ; or shall souls be saved ; or at 
least shall your part of the work of consecration 
be done towards the work of their salvation ? 
Let each man answer for himself, in the quiet of 
his soul, before the living God. 



122 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 21. 



Why stand ye here all the day idle ? — Matt. 
20 : 6. 

Religious Sluggards. 

AN American paper has the following in its 
corner of wit and anecdote : " A Sunday- 
school boy was asked by the superintendent, the 
other day, if his father was a Christian. ' Yes, 
sir,' he replied, ' but he is not working at it 
much.' " 

In too many cases the same statement might 
be made. . . . Do you know a Christian who 
never attends week-day services, and only comes 
to public worship once on Sunday ? " He is not 
working at it much." Do you know a professor 
who is not engaged in the Sabbath school, the 
visiting - society, the tract association, or any 
other form of usefulness ? " He is not working 
at it much." Do you know a man who gives 
little or nothing to the work of the Lord, neg- 
lects family prayer, never says a word for Jesus, 
and never intercedes for perishing souls ? " He 
is not working at it much." Perhaps he is the 
best judge of his religion, and does not think it 
worth being diligent about. 

We heard of one who said his religion did not 
cost him a shilling a year, and a friend observed 
that he thought it was more than it was worth ; 
and in the present case we may conclude that a 
man's religion is a very poor affair when "he 
does not work at it much." Our Lord did not 
set before us the Christian life as a dainty re- 
pose, but as a warfare and a struggle. He bids 
us " strive to enter in at the strait gate." 



123 



APRIL 22. 



Spurgeon, 



Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves 
together, as the manner of some is ; but exhort- 
ing one another. — Heb. io : 25. 



Absence from Week=night Services. 



J7 Wednesday evening, in the lecture-room. 
Dear brethren, I urge you all to attend the 
weekly meetings. ' Forsake not the assembling 
of yourselves together. ' " 

Some of the " dear brethren " deported them- 
selves in this way : Brother A thought it 

looked like rain, and concluded that his family, 
including himself, of course, had better remain 
at home. On Thursday evening it rained very 
hard, and the same brother hired a carriage, and 
took his whole family to the Academy of Music, 
to hear Mr. Agassiz lecture on the " Intelligence 
of the Lobster." 

Brother B thought he was too tired to go, 

so he stayed at home and worked on the sledge 
he had promised to make for Billy. Sister 

C thought the pavements too slippery. It 

would be dangerous to venture out. I saw her 
next morning go down street to get her old bon- 
net " done up." She had an old pair of stock- 
ings drawn over her shoes. 

Three-fourths of the members stayed at home. 
God was at the prayer meeting. The pastor was 
there, and God blessed them. The persons who 
stayed at home were each represented by a vacant 
seat. God doesn't bless empty seats. 




lecture as usual on 



124 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 23. 



Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. — 2 Pet. 3 : 18. 

Growing in Grace. 

IT is a good thing to be diligent in good 
works, and to be abounding in acts of right- 
eousness ; but if you begin to say, " Now I am 
growing," because of doing this or that, you have 
made a great mistake. It often happens that 
when we are very full of public labors, we are 
very short in private devotions. . . . Do not 
think this is any excuse for anybody who is not 
doing much ; you are not growing, for you are 
doing nothing. And those that are doing some- 
thing must not boast of their growth. It hath 
more to do with private devotion than public 
exercise ; with meditation than explanation ; with 
contemplation and adoration than public service. 
We must keep a good lookout on the closet. 
We must well attend to the reading of the Scrip- 
tures. If not, however much we may seem to 
progress outwardly, we are not any richer ; we 
are only beating out the little gold we had into 
a thinner plate, and spreading it over the sur- 
face. . . . Growth in grace is intimately con- 
nected with the growth "in knowledge of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.". . . We may 
always test ourselves, whether we are growing, 
by this : Do I know more of Christ to-day than 
I did yesterday ? Do I live nearer Christ to-day 
than I did a little while ago ? for increase in the 
knowledge of Christ is the very test as well as 
the cause of an increased growth in grace. 



125 



APRIL 24. 



Spurgeon. 



Take heed that ye do not your righteousness 
before men, to be seen of them. — Matt. 6 : 1 
(margin). 

Doing Things to Be Seen of flen. 

APPLAUSE is what too many are seeking 
after. They eschew all secret religion, 
and only live when men may behold them. 
Now, is that our case ? Let us deal honestly 
with ourselves ; if we distribute to the poor, do 
we desire to do it in secret, where no tongue 
shall tell ? Are our prayers offered in our clos- 
ets, where God, who heareth the cry of the secret 
ones, listens to our supplication ? Can we say 
that if every man were struck stone blind, and 
deaf, and dumb, we would not alter our conduct 
in the least ? . Can we declare that the opinion 
of our fellows is not our guiding law, but that we 
stand servants to our God and to our conscience, 
and are not made to do a wrong thing from flat- 
tery, nor are we urged to do a right thing from 
fear of censure ? . . . The hypocrite sounds a 
trumpet before his alms, and chooses the corner 
of the streets for his prayers. To him virtue in 
the dark is almost a vice ; he can never detect 
any beauty in virtue unless she has a thousand 
eyes to look upon her. The true Christian, like 
the nightingale, sings in the night ; the hypocrite 
has all his songs in the day, when he can be 
seen and heard of men. . . . Hypocrites do their 
good works for applause. Is it so with you? 
If so, be honest, and as you would convict an- 
other, convict yourself. 



126 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 25. 



Woe unto you, hypocrites ! . . . which strain 
at a gnat and swallow a camel. — Matt. 23 : 23, 24. 

Straining at a Gnat and Swallowing a Camel. 

THE slightest infringement of that which is 
a ceremonial observance becomes a great 
sin in the eyes of a hypocrite. ... I have always 
noticed that those very particular souls who look 
out for little things, who are always searching out 
little points of difference, are just the men who 
omit the weightier matters of the law, and, while 
they are so particular about the tithe of mint, 
and anise, and cummin, whole loads of tithe wheat 
are smuggled into their own barns. Always 
suspect yourself when you are more careful about 
little than about great things. If you find it 
hurts your conscience more to be absent from 
the communion than to cheat a widow, rest quite 
assured that you are wrong. . . . Mark you, my 
dear friends, I like you to strain at the gnats ; I 
have no objection at all, — only do not swallow 
the camel afterwards. Be as particular as you like 
about right and wrong. . . . Strain at the gnats ; 
they are not good things in your wines; strain 
them out ; it is well to get rid of them ; but then 
do not open your mouth and swallow a camel 
afterwards; for, if you do that, you will give no 
evidence that you are a child of God, but prove 
that you are a damnable hypocrite. Rest ye as- 
sured that the man who strains at a gnat and 
swallows a camel is a deceiver. 



127 



APRIL 26. 



Sturgeon. 



Be clothed with humility. . . . Humble your- 
selves therefore under the mighty hand of God, 
that he may exalt you in due time. — 1 Pet. 5 : 
5,6. 

The Grace of Humility. 

O HUMILITY, most precious thing, where art 
thou ? The depths of poverty say, " Thou 
art not in me," for the poor are often proud. 
The heights of riches say, " Thou art not here," 
for the rich are often proud, too. Thou art not to 
be found in science, for philosophy puffeth up. 
Thou art not to be found in ignorance, the very 
mother of pride. O humility, where can I find 
thee ? Nowhere can I see thee, or know what 
thou art, except I sit at the feet of Jesus, and 
behold myself a lost, ruined sinner purchased by 
divine love. O, if you would be humble, you 
must look at your Saviour. . . . You will never 
know your own nothingness so well as when you 
see your Saviour's greatness. . . . The nearer we 
get to Jesus, the smaller self will appear to be. 
Self and Christ can never come together. 'When 
I stand near self, Christ is small ; when I stand 
near Christ, self is small. May God grant you 
to grow in the knowledge of Christ. Read the 
Scriptures more. Seek more the influences of 
the Holy Spirit upon them ; spend more time in 
devotion ; ask God the Holy Spirit to give you 
a fresher gale from Calvary ; be oftener on the 
mount of transfiguration, in the garden of suf- 
fering, in the hall of agony, under the cross of 
crucifixion ; live with Jesus and near to him. 



128 



Spurgeon. 



APRIL 27. 



The cup which my Father hath given me, 
shall I not drink it ? — John 18 : 11. 

Quarrelling with God about Our Trials. 

OUR natural corruption is apt to quarrel with 
the Lord concerning our suffering. Against 
this be ever watchful. Whenever you are called 
to endure trial, do not complain of the particular 
form it takes. Perhaps it is great bodily pain, 
and you say, " I could bear anything better than 
this." That is a mistake. God knows what is 
best for his child. " O, I could bear sickness," 
says another, " but I have been slandered ! My 
character is taken away, and I cannot bear that." 
Thus our will asserts its place, and we pine to be 
our own god and ruler. This must not be. You 
must, my dear friend, bear that which the Lord 
appoints, or else you will make the matter a good 
deal worse. . . . Let the Lord appoint you care or 
calumny, sickness or slander, for he knows best. 
" But I am afraid I shall lose my wife, or my 
favorite child. I think I could suffer anything 
but that." Yes, you see, a rebellious spirit con- 
tends with God one way or another ; it cannot be 
quiet. . . . O, let us be silent before the Lord, 
and judge his ways no longer, for in this there is 
no benefit to ourselves or others ! Say, " It is 
the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." 
. . . Bow your head, and silence your tongue, and 
have done forever with arraigning your Maker 
before your petty judgment-seat. Shall not the 
heavenly Father do that which is right and good ? 



129 



APRIL 28. 



Spurgeon. 



The chiefest among ten thousand ... he is 
altogether lovely. — Cant. 5 : 10, 16. 

"More Love to Thee, O Christ." 



HE way to grow in love to Christ is to know 



more of Christ. The more you discover of 
his beauties, of his excellences, of his virtues, 
of his perfections, of his glories, the more your soul 
will be in him. I tell you who do not love Christ 
at all, it is because you do not know him ; for, if you 
knew anything of him, you would love him in pro- 
portion to your knowledge. The more you know 
of my Master, the more you will love him. . . . 

Blessed are the men that improve in acquaint- 
ance ! Jesus Christ is one of these blessed 
ones ; the more you know of him, the more you 
love him. Sweet Jesus ! when I saw thee first, I 
loved thee. When first thy wounded hand and 
bleeding side were uncovered to me, then I loved 
thee. Ah ! but that love is nothing compared 
with what I have now. And, O, when I shall 
see thee as thou art — when my soul becomes 
changed into love, the love I have now shall seem 
to have been naught but a spark ; ay, very hatred 
itself compared with the love which I shall have 
to thee then ! 

Know more of Christ ; read more of him ; think 
more of him ; ask more about him ; because 
you will be sure to grow in the grace of love, in 
proportion as you know more of Christ. 




Spurgeon. 



APRIL 29. 



Who shall roll us away the stone ? . . . And 
when they looked, they saw that the stone was 
rolled away. — Mark 16 : 3, 4. 

The Way Will Be Cleared as We Go. 

THE driver of the tram-car through the 
streets of our city starts with his car upon 
a line which runs continuously to his journey's 
end. If he goes on straight ahead, he will surely 
come to the destined place. Should he be able 
to see all the route at once, he would observe 
many coal-wagons, furniture-vans, timber-car- 
riages, brewers' drays, and the like, blocking 
up his road along the rails, and he might mourn- 
fully ask, " How can I move all these things ? " 
But he takes no such lengthened view, and asks 
no such useless question. As he moves along, 
all sorts of obstructive traffic give way before 
him ; even the van demons yield him the road. 
When one of them is a little slow in getting out 
of the way, our driver blows his whistle, and, 
after two or three shrill appeals, the obstinate 
vehicle retires. As the rails run all the way, 
so does the car. Just so are we on the rails 
of eternal life. Between us and heaven there 
are a thousand obstructions, and if we think of 
them all we may well be fearful ; but they will 
one and all disappear as we come to them. If 
they should seem likely to bar our progress, we 
must sound the whistle of prayer, and in due 
season they will turn aside and leave us a clear 
road along the lines of covenant grace. There- 
fore go ahead and fear no impediment. 



APRIL 30. 



Spurgeon. 



Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath 
to come ? — Matt. 3:7. 

Wrath to Come. 

MY hearer, if thou lovest sin, thy heart 
is not right in the sight of God. Thou 
art still a stranger to divine grace. The wrath 
of God abideth in thee. Thou art a lost soul 
unless God change thy heart. And yet, another 
remark here. Sinner, thou sayest thy sin is but 
a little one. But dost thou not know that God 
will damn thee for thy little sins ? Look angry 
now, and say the minister is harsh. . . . An eter- 
nity of woe is prepared for what men call little 
sins. It is not alone the murderer, the drunkard, 
the whoremonger, that shall be sent to hell. The 
wicked, it is true, shall be sent there, but the 
little sinner, with all the nations that forget God, 
shall have his portion there also. Tremble, there- 
fore, on account of little sins. . . . What a dread- 
ful idea is contained in these words, " The wrath 
to come " ! Mark, hell is always " the wrath to 
come.". . . O, what an idea ! I know not how 
to utter it ! And yet for your little sins, remem- 
ber, you incur the wrath to come. O, that ye 
would arise, that you would flee from the wrath 
to come, that ye would forsake little sins, and 
fly to the great cross of Christ to have little 
sins blotted out, and little offences washed away ! 
O, " the wrath to come! the wrath to come!" 
It is enough to make one's heart ache to think 
of it. God help you to flee from it. May you 
escape from it now, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. 

J 3 2 



MAY WITH 
FREDERICK BROTHERTON MEYER. 



REV. F. B. MEYER. 

May. 



Meyer. 



MAY I. 



O Lord, hear ; O Lord, forgive ; O Lord, 
hearken, and do. — Dan. 9:19. 

Begin the Day with God. 

AS I stand at the doorway of this new day, 
I come to thee, most blessed Lord, to renew 
my vows. My soul lies low in penitence before 
thee, as I recall all thy patience and loving- 
kindness, thy forbearance and tender pity, to- 
wards one of the most unworthy of thy children. 
I have so often failed thee ; I have disappointed 
thee when I might have pleased thee ; I have 
thwarted thee when I might have yielded to thy 
holy purpose. My only plea is thy most precious 
blood. Thou hast magnified thy mercy in sav- 
ing me ; now magnify thy grace in forgiving and 
restoring my soul. Let me stand again in thy 
holy presence, and speak with thee, face to face. 

" Nothing between, Lord, nothing between." 

From this moment I solemnly, and in thy 
grace, renounce and put away the evil things 
which have usurped an unholy supremacy with 
me, — the companionships that lower the tem- 
perature of my inner life ; the books and amuse- 
ments that have cast a shadow on my hours of 
fellowship ; the sin that so easily besets me ; the 
yielding to sloth that has robbed me of so many 
seasons of hallowed communion; the desire to 
please men rather than thee, and to succeed in 
this world rather than to be a humble servant 
in thy glorious household. . . . O, keep me true ; 
thou hast kept my soul from death ; wilt thou not 
keep my feet from falling ? — The Golden Rule. 



i35 



MAY 2. 



Meyer. 



Give thyself wholly. — i Tim. 4: 15. 

A Personal Experience. 

VERY memorable was the night when I 
came to close quarters with God. The 
Angel that wrestled with Jacob had found me, 
eager to make me a prince. There were things 
in my heart and life which I felt were question- 
able, if not worse ; I knew that God had a con- 
troversy with regard to them ; I saw that my 
very dislike to probe or touch them was a clear 
indication that there was mischief lurking be- 
neath. At the same time I did not feel willing 
to give these things up. It was a long struggle. 
At last I said, feebly, " Lord, I am willing to be 
made willing ; I am desirous that thy will should 
be done in me, and through me, as thoroughly 
as it is done in heaven ; come and take me, and 
make me, and break me." That was the hour 
of crisis, and when it had passed I felt able at 
once to add, " And now I give myself to thee, 
body, soul, and spirit ; in sorrow or in joy ; in 
the dark or in the light ; in life or in death ; to 
be thine only, wholly, and forever. Make the 
most of me that can be made for thy glory." 
No rapture or rush of joy came to assure me 
that the gift was accepted. I left the place with 
almost a heavy heart. I simply assured myself 
that he must have taken that which I had given. 
And to that belief I clung all the days that fol- 
lowed. And thus at last the joy and rest entered, 
and victory and freedom from burdening care. — 
" Seven Rules for Daily Sowing." 



136 



Meyer. 



MAY 3. 



That I may daily perform my vows. — Ps. 
61:8. 

Seven Rules for Daily Living. 

1. Make a definite consecration of yourselves to 
God. — With most people it would be sufficient 
to write out Miss Havergal's hymn, and sign 
their names at the foot. 

2. Tell God that you are willing to be made 
willing about all — Let the Lord Jesus keep the 
house of your nature, scrutinizing every visitor, 
admitting only his friends. He must have the 
key of every room. 

3. Reckon on Christ to do his part perfectly. — 
Directly you give, he takes. Directly you will 
open the door, he enters. 

4. Confess sin instantly. — Do not wait for the 
evening to come, or until you can get alone, but 
there in the midst of the crowd, with the foot- 
prints of sin still fresh, lift up your heart to your 
merciful and ever-present Saviour, and ask for- 
giveness. 

5. Hand over to Christ every temptation and 
care. — In the early morning intrust to him the 
keeping of your soul, and expect him to keep it. 

6. Keep i?i touch with Christ. — Go where he 
is most likely to be found ; either where two or 
three of his children are gathered together, or 
where the lost sheep is straying. 

7. Expect the Holy Ghost to work in, with, and 
for you. — Rely on the Holy Ghost to go before 
you, to make crooked places straight, rough 
places smooth. — " Seven Rules for Daily Liv- 
ing " (condensed). 

J 37 



MAY 4. 



Meyer. 



I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the 
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a liv- 
ing sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. — Rom. 
12 : 1. 

A Living Sacrifice. 

YIELD to Jesus your whole self. You are 
his by the purchase of his blood ; now be 
his by your own glad choice. Bind yourself as 
a sacrifice to the horns of the altar. Present 
your body, soul, and spirit. Hand yourself over 
to be his. Ask him to come and take you. 
Tell him that, in this glad hour, you wish to be 
made willing to have his way, his will, his law, 
in all. Go through life saying, a thousand times 
each day, "I am his.". . . He pledges his word, 
to take that which is given to him. At first there 
may be no gracious response of emotion, but as 
the days pass on, and you come to taste more and 
more of the sweetness of belonging, nevermore 
to yourself, but only to him, there will come into 
your heart the fulness of joy, as well as the ful- 
ness of power. . . . Then you will think more of 
what he says to you than of what you say to him. 
Then you will always be on the alert to catch the 
least whisper of his voice, the slightest token of 
his will. Then you will bring every plan and 
purpose into the King's weigh-house before put- 
ting them in action, or even submitting them to 
your dearest friend. Then there will be ever on 
your lips the words, "What next, dear Lord, 
what next ? " and you shall read his will in cir- 
cumstances which to others might seem trivial. 
You shall abide in him and he in you. — " The 
Secret of Power." 



138 



Meyer. 



MAY 5. 



The Lord is with you, while ye be with him ; 
and if ye seek him, he will be found of you ; but 
if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. — 2 
Chron, 15:2. 

The Need of Unhurried Communion. 

UST so long as the spirit of man keeps on 



terms of intimacy with the loving spirit of 



J God, whilst the Bible is regularly and prayer- 
fully studied, and the habit of retirement is main- 
tained, there will be a regular growth in grace 
and in the knowledge and love of God. 

If only the golden pipes are kept free and un- 
clogged, there will be an uninterrupted flow of 
the golden oil to feed the flame of a holy life. 
We know all this. Our hearts have often tasted 
the sweet refreshment and holy encouragement 
which are found in these quiet, blessed hours 
spent in the most holy place. We know that 
there is nothing more productive of all that makes 
life worth having than communion with God. 
And yet this is the one exercise which we are 
most prone to hurry or neglect. The chapters of 
the Word of God are skimmed as a duty, as the 
surface of a mountain lake is touched here and 
there by the breast of the wild fowl ; whilst the 
morning or evening prayer is uttered so coldly 
and perfunctorily that it had almost better have 
been unsaid. Is it, then, to be wondered at that 
the energies of the spiritual life decline, and 
sadly need the interposition of some strong, wise 
hand to restore? " He restoreth my soul." — 
" The Shepherd Psalm." 




139 



MAY 6. 



Meyer. 



Martha was cumbered about much serving. 
— Luke io : 40. 

Fellowship and Service. 

THE reading of the Bible is as necessary as 
the feeding of an engine with coal, or the 
imparting of strength to an invalid by food. And 
this reading must be steeped in the spirit of 
prayer. You must never let your work for Christ 
so engross you as to rob you of those quiet 
hours when he needs you to be alone with him, 
that he may declare to you his Father's name, 
and reveal himself, and charge you with the 
spiritual forces stored up in him. It will be 
well for you to keep yourself free from attractive 
avenues of service, to be fresh for these still 
hours. They are more dear to him, and more 
needful to you, than all your service. "In 
earing-time and harvest thou shalt rest." One 
hour spent in work after prolonged fellowship 
with Christ will pay better than twelve hours 
spent in unbroken toils. Christ cares less for 
the amount of work done than for its quality. 
He is more anxious about the worker than the 
work. 

Help me to remember this, thou Lord of the 
harvest, and often may I leave even the whiten- 
ing fields, that in thee I may find rest and 
strength. And if I seem to tarry, I pray thee, 
send some loving reminder to call me to thy side, 
as thou didst to Mary by the hand of her sister 
Martha. — " The Secret of Power." 



140 



Meyer. 



MAY 7. 



Meditate upon these things ; give thyself 
wholly to them ; that thy profiting may appear to 
all. — 1 Tim. 4:15. 



HERE is plenty of work being done ; much 



X attendance at conferences and special mis- 
sions ; diligent reading of religious books ; but 
there is a great and fatal lack of holy meditation 
upon the person, the words, and the work of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

Will each reader of these lines stay here for a 
moment, and ask if he knows anything of the in- 
terior life of meditation, which is ever deriving 
fresh sustenance from a consideration of the 
Lord? 

It was only the other day I was rebuked by 
the habit of a well-known Roman Catholic 
bishop, of whom it is said : " The first point of 
his rule was early rising, which he faithfully 
practised to the last day of his life, and often 
recommended to others. He was the first on 
foot at his palace, and began his prayers and 
meditation between four and five o'clock in the 
morning, and never spent less at them than an 
hour. He often did this with his memoranda in 
his hand, so as to recall past graces and thus re- 
kindle the flame. Nor did it seem as though any 
hour passed in his crowded and stirring life, 
without by some direct act refreshing his soul 
by communion with God." — " The Shepherd 
Psalm." 



Meditation. 




141 



MAY 8. Meyer. 



Truly I am full of power by the spirit of the 
Lord. — Mic. 3:8. 

The Power of God. 

DO you not sometimes moan over your want 
of power ? You stand face to face with 
devil-tormented people, but you cannot cast the 
devil out. You feel that you ought to confess 
Christ in the workshop, in the commercial room, 
the railway carriage, and the home ; but your lips 
refuse to utter the message of your heart. Yes, 
and worst of all, you are constantly being over- 
come by besetting sins, which carry you whither 
y^v would not. There is a lamentable lack of 
power among you. 

But where can I find the power of God ? 
Jesus Christ is the reservoir in which the 
power of God is stored. " It pleased the Father 
that in him should all the fulness dwell." All 
power is his. He would not receive it from the 
devil on the mountain of temptation, but he laid 
claim to it on the mount of ascension. Listen 
to his majestic words : " All power is given unto 
me in heaven and in earth." 

How may I get this power for myself ? 
By faith. Each time you are face to face with 
some difficulty or temptation or service, lift up 
your heart to the living Saviour ; draw upon him ; 
let him feel that you are depending upon him for 
the word to say and the strength to say it. And 
immediately there will be a welling up of power 
within your heart, as lakes are filled from hidden 
springs. — " The Secret of Power." 



142 



Meyer. 



MAY 9. 



Christ liveth in me. — Gal. 2 : 20. 
An Object Lesson. 

ONE morning last summer at Northfield, I 
accentuated the utter hopelessness of re- 
pairing and sanctifying our own nature, and the 
imperative necessity of securing the indwelling 
and uprising of the life of the Lord Jesus. . . . 
In the afternoon Mr. Moody appeared with a 
young apple-tree, and commenced the following 
conversation with his brother, who is a practical 
gardener. 

"Would this stock produce apples? " " No, it 
is a forest sapling." " How did you get these 
apples ? " " We ingrafted the slip of an apple- 
tree." "How did you graft?" "We made the 
incision with the knife, and inserted the apple- 
graft. Then all the sap and strength of the 
sapling began to pour into the graft." 

Turning to me, Mr. Moody said, " Is that not 
something like regeneration, when Christ comes 
into our heart, and our life begins to flow through 
him ? " Questioning his brother again, he said, 
" Suppose there came shoots under the graft ; 
would they not divert the strength of the tree ? " 
" Certainly, they must be cut off." " Suppose 
you cut them off once, will they come again ? " 
" There is always a tendency to do so, but if you 
cut a shoot off three times in the same place, it 
will not trouble you again ; but the old stock will 
probably break out in another place lower down." 

Turning to me, Mr. Moody said, " Is not that 
like our old nature continually striving for the 
mastery ? " — The Golden Rule. 



M3 



MAY 10. 



Meyer. 



The life which I now live in the flesh I live 
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me 
and gave himself for me. — Gal. 2 : 20. 

Not Attain, but Obtain. 

YOU cannot attain that victory over besetting 
sin ; you have fought and wrestled for it in 
vain for years, and always been worsted ; but you 
can obtain it by the up glance of the eye of faith 
to the Lord Jesus, who has overcome all our foes. 
. . . Do not strive to attain the victory by your 
own efforts ; but look to Jesus to give the vic- 
tory. Now, " thanks be to God who giveth us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ/' 

You cannot attain some grace of Christian 
character which you long to possess ; but you can 
obtain it. It is there in the character of Jesus, 
waiting for you ; and all that is requisite on your 
part is to adopt an attitude of utter and constant 
dependence. God hath blessed us with all spir- 
itual blessings in Jesus, and he hath given us all 
things that pertain to life and godliness, through 
the blessed knowledge of the Son of his love. 

You cannot attain that power in service before 
which hard hearts will break, and eyes unused to 
weeping shall be filled with tears. It is not an 
acquisition or an attainment ; it will not come by 
practice or education, or any number of elocu- 
tion lessons ; it is a secret from all who desire it 
for any selfish or vainglorious end. But if you 
will wait before God in silence and patience, 
your eyes being ever towards the Lord, he will 
give you your heart's desire. — The Golden Rule, 



144 



Meyer. 



MAY II. 



Christ in you, the hope of glory. — Col. i : 27. 

Three Significant "Ins." 

{CHRIST glorified in us (Gal. 1 : 24). "We 
\^( have been all night with God," cried some 
Salvationists to old Andrew Bonar ; " can't 
you see our faces shine ? " " Moses wist not that 
his face shone," was the immediate reply. 

When Jesus has really taken possession of us, 
we shall not need to tell people so. Probably 
we shall be the last to count it so. But others 
will take knowledge of us that we have been 
with him ; and, instead of concentrating their at- 
tention on us, they will turn to the source from 
which the transforming radiance proceeds. 

Christ mighty in us (Gal. 2 : 8). What we can- 
not do, he does through us. Hudson Taylor tells 
that at the beginning of his life he thought 
he heard Christ saying, " I am going to evan- 
gelize inland China, and if you will work with 
me, I will do it through you." He yielded him- 
self to Christ, and Christ has wrought effectually 
through him to the founding of the China In- 
land Mission. This is the secret of successful 
work ; not to toil for Christ, but to open our 
whole nature to him, that he may pour through 
it the tides of his glorious energy. 

Christ lives in us (Gal. 2 : 20). " Do you ask," 
said Luther, " who lives within ? " I answer, 
"Not Martin Luther, but Jesus Christ." Give 
yourself up to him without reserve. Let it be 
your one aim to abstract yourself from everything 
that would be disgraceful to him, and throw open 
all the avenues of your being to his indwelling ! 



*45 



MAY 12. 



Meyer. 



If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all 
unrighteousness. — i John i : 9. 

Unconfessed Sin. 

UNCONFESSED sin is a great cause of 
swift spiritual decline. If there be a cause 
of disagreement, however trivial, among friends, 
they shrink from meeting ; or if they meet, there 
is a coldness and restraint which are the more 
evident and painful in proportion to the warmth 
and intimacy of their previous attachment. There 
can be no more heart-union till the cause of es- 
strangement has been probed, and the wrong 
confessed, or the misunderstanding explained. 
And the same principle obtains in the relation- 
ship of the soul with God. When we sin, there 
is generally a tendency to imitate Adam and Eve 
in their concealment. The happiest hour in all 
the day was that in which, as the evening breeze 
shed a delicious cool on the tropic heat, the voice 
of the Lord God was heard summoning them to 
commune with him. But sin makes the thought 
of fellowship unwelcome. Similarly we have 
learned, again and again, that unconfessed sin 
casts a dark shadow over our fellowship with 
God. ... O, do not wait for days or weeks to 
elapse ere you apply to him for his restoring 
grace ! But just as you are, dare to trust him 
now. Whilst the throb of passion is still beat- 
ing high, and the shame of the deed is recent, 
look up to him and claim forgiveness. — " The 
Shepherd Psalm." 



146 



Meyer. 



MAY 13. 



What lack I yet ? — Matt. 19 : 20. 

Causes of Failure. 

WEAK faith generally shows there is some- 
thing wrong in the inner life. Examine 
yourselves to see the cause. Are you yielding 
to temptation ? Every temptation overcome is 
an increase of spiritual power, but every tempta- 
tion yielded to, cuts the sinews of your strength 
and shears off the seven locks of your might. 
Have you fully yielded yourself to God ? Often 
failure points to lack of consecration. Is not 
self too prominent in you ? Before conversion 
you lived from the centre of an irreligious self. 
Are you perfectly sure that you are not now liv- 
ing from the centre of a religious self ? 

Show me the workings of this religious self, 
the symptom and source of my weakness, that I 
may know and hate myself. Think a moment ! 
In making plans for God's work, do you not often 
act upon your own impulse, instead of waiting 
to inquire his will ? Have you not often rushed 
into an enterprise without once considering whose 
spirit it was that prompted you? Do you not 
continually ask God to help you in all your little 
schemes, without first asking if he approved of 
them, or seeking to know what he had on hand, 
and to know if you might help him ? And, when 
all is done, is there not a spirit of self-congratula- 
tion, which, though it may array itself in the garb 
of humanity, is most distasteful to him who re- 
sisteth the proud ? — " The Secret of Power." 



147 



MAY 14. 



Meyer. 



Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto 
thy name give glory. — Ps. 115 : 1. 

Not I, but Christ. 

IN Christian work especially, let us remember 
not to attract people to ourselves. Too many 
magnify themselves above their Lord. They fill 
the field of men's vision. They so concentrate 
men's attention upon themselves and their doings 
that the Lord Jesus becomes a shadowy figure 
hardly recognized or sought after. ... It seems 
as though comparatively few can be sent upon 
the Lord's errands without their securing for 
themselves such heavy percentage of the profits 
that there is very little revenue forthcoming for 
the King. 

" Not I, but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted ; 

Not I, but Christ, be seen, be known, be heard; 
Not I, but Christ, in every look and action; 
Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word." 

Let us never forget what St. Paul said. After 
he had made the assertion, " I labored more 
abundantly than they all," he found it necessary 
to modify the expression by adding, " Not I, 
but the grace of God which was with me." 

As the lantern is only for the light, and the 
glass for the water, and the green plant for the 
flower, so be content just to hold, convey, and 
present Christ before men. Do men stop to look 
at the wire on which the electric light burns, or 
the earthenware pipe through which the water 
flows ? Be content to be nothing that God may 
be all in all. — The Golden Ride. 

148 



Meyer. 



MAY 15. 



Lest I myself should be a castaway. — 1 Cor. 
9:27. 

A Castaway. 

OI HAVE such a fear of being a castaway ! 
What a dreadful thing it would be ! I do 
not think that Paul meant that he was in danger 
of being cast away from the presence of God or 
shut out of heaven, but that he was in danger of 
rendering himself unfit for God's use. . . . When 
the stylographic pen came out, I bought one, but 
it served me poorly. When I wanted to use it, it 
would not work ; and when I did not want to use 
it, it ran rivers of ink. Now I have a better one. 
It obeys my will perfectly. Whenever I start on 
a journey, I fancy I hear the old pen saying : 
" Ay, he is off again. He isn't taking me with 
him. Time was when he never wrote a letter, 
but I did it. I always knew his thoughts when 
they came fresh from his mind, before any one 
else knew them. But now he uses me no longer. 
I am a castaway." It is my pen still, but I do 
not use it now. And you, dear soul, may still be 
Christ's ; but the happy, happy days when Christ 
used you to write his messages upon the tablets 
of human hearts have passed away. When he 
wanted you most, you did not serve him. You 
brought delay and unrest to the Master ; for 
instead of working through you, and through you 
executing his purposes, he had to turn his atten- 
tion to you. In the critical moment when Christ 
wanted to work through you, he had to stop to 
get you right. And you are a castaway. — The 
Golden Rule. 



149 



MAY 1 6. 



Meyer. 



Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and re- 
new a right spirit within me. — Ps. 51 : 10. 

Spring Cleaning. 

MOST careful housekeepers count it part of 
household economy to have what they are 
pleased to call a "spring cleaning." This sug- 
gests the desirability of our having an occasional 
inspection of our soul-life, to see whether we are 
advancing or receding. . . . 

Pass your secret times of devotion in review. 
Are you as keen for your Bible as for your news- 
paper or story-book ? Are you content with the 
smallest allowance of prayer that will keep con- 
science quiet ? Do you allow time for holy famil- 
iarity to grow up between you and your heavenly 
Friend? Or do you rush in and out, as some 
tourists are said to " do " picture galleries and 
cathedrals, without allowing time for the solemn 
majesty of the Madonna or the painted window 
to steal in upon the heart ? 

Do you allow your imagination to conjure up 
impure images, and bear you away to forbidden 
scenes, or is it tenanted with pure and beautiful 
shapes ? Are your affections centred on legiti- 
mate objects ? 

Where does your will point ? Are you quite 
sure that it is true to the magnetic pole of the will 
of God ? If the tuner must come month by month 
to piano and organ to bring the musical instru- 
ment into a condition of perfect harmony, do we 
not all need that God should raise our will into 
perfect accord with his own ? — The Golden Rule. 



Meyer. 



MAY 17. 



O that thou wouldest bless me indeed . . . 
and that thou wouldest keep me from evil. — 1 
Chron. 4 : 10. 



'N my inner life, I desire to be kept absolutely 



in me the crystal fountain of purity. O Lamb 
of God, be in me the source of absolute meekness 
and humility. Make me instantly sensitive to 
the least taint of impurity and uncharity. Before 
ever the suggestion has assumed a tangible shape, 
may I have detected it and taken shelter in thee. 

In 7ny home life may I be made a blessing, its 
sunbeam when the days are dark, its inspiration 
when the days are sad and hopeless, its tender 
comfort when the days are full of pain and tears. 
Always thinking of others before myself. 

In my religious life may the neglect of prayer 
and thy holy Word be things of the past. Wake 
me morning by morning to hear as a disciple. 
Enable me to spring up at thy call, and like all 
thy true servants to rise up early in the morning, 
to gather the manna ere the dew be gone. May 
my fellowship with thee be unbroken through the 
day, and continue so that at least once in every 
fifteen minutes I may look up into thy face, even 
if I have not time to speak. 

In my daily calling make me diligent in business, 
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. May I do my 
work, not for the wages I get, nor to secure an 
advance ; but so as to please Jesus. — TJie Golden 
Rule. 



A Prayer. 




O holy and spotless One, be 



MAY 1 8. 



Meyer. 



Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of 
God. — i Cor. io : 31. 

Doubtful Things. 

IN the life of every Christian there are many 
questions which rise perpetually for an answer. 
We puzzle about them in our hours of reverie. 
We listen with keen intentness to an address or 
sermon that seems likely to cast light on them, 
though as often as not we turn away disappointed. 
We sometimes, in bursts of confidence, intrust 
them to our friends, asking for help. And yet, 
after all, we have to waive the verdict ; and the 
solution is given, not definitely or concisely, but by 
circumstances or by an entire change in the con- 
ditions of our life. ... It is almost impossible, 
therefore, to lay down any authoritative rules of 
conduct. After all, each must decide what is right 
or wrong for himself. All we can do is to enunci- 
ate certain great principles which always need to be 
borne in mind. . . . One of these is, to do nothing 
on which you cannot ask the blessing of Christ. In 
the old days it was thought that if the sign of the 
cross were made over any vessel that contained 
poison, it would instantly be shivered in pieces ; 
so whenever some doubtful topic confronts us, 
let each say : " Can I do this for Jesus ? Can I 
do it as one who is abiding in fellowship with 
him ? Can I ask his blessing ? Can I do it for 
his glory ? " If you can ; if, as you look up into 
his face, he answers you with a smile, then hesi- 
tate no more, but go forward where the way lies 
open. — The Golde?i Rule. 



152 



Meyer. 



MAY 19. 



As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. — Prov. 
23 : 7- 

Our Thoughts. 

UNTIL you have learned to control your 
thoughts, you will never be able to live a 
godly and righteous life. As a man thinketh in 
his heart, so is he ; and it is because the thoughts 
that we entertain in the hostelry of the soul are 
such worthless and vain ones that our words and 
acts often bring so heavy a disgrace on the name 
we love. Well might the wise man say, " Keep 
thy heart above all keeping, for out of it are the 
issues of life." When the heart is right, the ear 
and the eye and the mouth and the foot will 
necessarily obey its promptings ; but when the 
heart is wrong, filled with tides of ink, like the 
cuttlefish, it will develop itself in the impurity 
to which it gives vent. 

There are many who pride themselves on their 
outward behavior, on not having traversed the 
rights of God and man ; they even bear a Chris- 
tian name and engage in Christian work ; but 
their minds are full of vile thoughts, which dese- 
crate the sacred precincts of the soul which was 
meant to be the temple of God alone. ... If 
you habitually permit evil things to have their 
right of way through you, or lodging within you, 
remember that in God's sight you are held 
equally guilty with those that indulge in evil 
acts, because you are withheld, not by your fear 
of him, but by your desire to maintain your 
position among men. — The Golden Ride. 



*53 



MAY 20. 



Meyer. 



Bringing into captivity every thought to the 
obedience of Christ. — 2 Cor. 10 : 5. 

Controlling Our Thoughts. 

DO not say that you cannot control your 
thoughts. It is perfectly certain that you 
can. . . . We all have the God-given power of 
excluding bad and vain thoughts, or of turning 
towards whatsoever things are true, honorable, 
just, pure, lovely, gracious. " If there be any 
virtue, if there be any praise, think on these 
things.". . . Like the Psalmist we may say, " I 
hate vain thoughts," because of the curse they 
bring to my heart, and the grief they bring to 
my King. Intrusion is forbidden by the double 
barrier of our own choice, and the keeping power 
of Jesus. Let the peace of God keep the door 
of heart and mind, turning back the unfit in- 
truder. Let the Holy Spirit bring every thought 
into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Let 
the faithful Saviour have the keeping of the soul 
intrusted to him, that he may watch every men- 
acing thought that lurks in the shadow. He will 
not fail the suppliant whose lips are familiar with 
one of the greatest of uninspired prayers, — 
" Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the in- 
spiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may per- 
fectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy 
name." If only you would ask Christ to under- 
take the straining out of unworthy, vain, proud, 
jealous, and evil thoughts, you would find that 
he would be as vigilant as the warder who from 
his watch-tower detects the spy or traitor. — The 
Golden Rule. 



i54 



Meyer. 



MAY 21. 



Forgetting those things which are behind. 
— Phil. 3 : 13. 

Forgetting Past Sorrows. 

"*ORGET your past sorrows. Some always 



L bear themselves as if they would say, " I 
am one who has seen affliction ; call me not 
Naomi, but call me Marah, for the Lord hath 
dealt very bitterly with me." There is a pen- 
sive, dejected look as though God had forgotten 
to be gracious, and had shut up his mercy for- 
evermore. This does not commend our God to 
others, and it betrays a wrong state of things 
in ourselves. ... If a father chastens a child, 
do not expect it to wear always afterwards a 
downcast look. If it did, we might fear it had 
not forgiven its parent, and was resenting the 
chastening as a personal wrong. The stripes 
should be accepted and pondered, but the face 
should be lightened with the assurance of the 
father's forgiveness, and perfect trust that all 
was lovingly meant. 

So with ourselves. We have seen sorrow. 
The shadow has passed over our sun ; the si- 
rocco has withered our green oasis. We can 
never forget the dear one taken from our side. 
But beside the cross there are springs of joy ; let 
us drink of them. Much is gone ; but, thank 
God, much is left. Let us look not only on our 
losses, but also on our possessions. Let us be 
sure that we have forgiven God. Let us lift to 
him a face, wet with tears, perhaps, yet full of 
love and trust, until he shall illuminate it with 
the light of his countenance. — The Golden Rule, 




J55 



MAY 22. 



Meyer. 



Laying aside all malice, and all guile, and 
hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings. — 
i Pet. 2:1. 

Tempers and What to Do with Them. 

X / T HAT a shadow is cast over lives and 



afflicted with ill temper be delivered ? The apos- 
tle says, " Laying aside all malice." That u lay- 
ing aside " is a remarkable expression, for it 
means that the thing may be done by one 
sudden, definite act. We are not to wait till 
these evil things die down in our hearts, but are 
to make up our minds, once and forever, to lay 
them aside, as a beggar his rags when new 
clothes are offered him. It is a definite act of 
the will. Will you make it now ? Will you say, 
" From this moment I choose to be free from 
these things, and I deliberately put them off 99 ? 

But you fear this will not help you, you have 
so often made good resolutions before and broken 
them. Then take one further step. Trust Christ 
to keep you. Say, "Lord. I have often tried to 
keep my temper, and failed, but henceforth I 
trust its keeping to thee." Every morning look 
up into his face and say, " I am still trusting 
thee to come between me and my evil past, and 
to fill me with thine own sweetness, gentleness, 
and patience." In moments of provocation, dare 
to trust him still. Live thus, and you will be 
known for the very opposite temper to that 
which has so often caused you poignant regret. 
— The Goldeii Rule. 




How may those 



Meyer. 



MAY 23. 



Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his 
righteousness ; and all these things shall be added 
unto you. — Matt. 6 : 33. 

Bread=winning. 

ALMOST the first question in every one's life 
is to settle the question that Satan put to 
our Lord in his first temptation. Where does 
bread, and bread-getting, come in ? Is it to be 
the first consideration, or the last ? According to 
Satan's way of looking at life, the bread question 
is paramount ; according to Christ's, secondary. 

It is very remarkable that this was the first 
temptation, because it so constantly occurs in 
every life ; and sooner or later the devil comes 
to us with the suggestion that we must live, we 
must make or get our bread, leaving considera- 
tions of truth, honor, God, and eternity to come 
in second best. 

The man who keeps his shop open on Sunday, 
because on that day he makes more than in all 
the rest of the week, says in effect, " Bread is my 
first consideration ; my family and I must live." 
The young man that accepts a partnership in 
some lucrative business, against which his con- 
science raises urgent protest, says, " Bread is 
first." The girl who accepts a wealthy suitor 
with whom she can have no real sympathy, also 
says, " Bread is first." Some day you will have 
to choose between your situation and your con- 
science, between making a large income and 
following principle, between mammon and God. 
— The Golden Rule. 



l S7 



MAY 24. 



Meyer. 



My God shall supply all your need. — Phil. 
4:19. 

Trusting God for Daily Bread. 

AMID all the sorrow and want of the world, 
the Lord's sheep are well supplied. The 
cry of the worldling is contained in the weary 
confession, " I perish with hunger." But the 
boast of the saint rings through the glad assur- 
ance, " My God shall supply all your need." His 
hired servants have bread enough and to spare ; 
how much more his own ! . . . Your experiences 
may seem to contradict this glad announcement ; 
but perhaps you have not, by faith, sought and ap- 
propriated the supplies which have been placed 
ready to your hand ; or you have not made known 
your requests unto God with prayer and suppli- 
cation ; or your hour of need has not yet fully 
come ; or you have misunderstood your real 
need, and are asking for something that would 
do you harm. ... It is very unbecoming, to say 
the least, that God's children should be fretful 
about their daily bread, supposing they are using 
all lawful methods to obtain it, as the children of 
men. . . . What would you say, if, when school- 
time came to-morrow morning, your little boy — 
before he started with unwilling feet to school 
— entered your larder, and busied himself exam- 
ining its contents, with special reference to your 
provision for dinner ? Would he not legiti- 
mately incur your displeasure ? Would you not 
say, " Be off to school, and leave me to care while 
you are gone ? " Would you not rebuke him for 
his want of trust ? — " The Shepherd Psalm." 

158 



Meyer. 



MAY 25. 



The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want. — 
Ps. 23 : I. 

Jehovah=Jesus, My Shepherd. 



X ital letters, and wherever that is the 
case, we know that it stands for the mystic word, 
Jehovah. . . . Jehovah means the living One, 
the self-existent Being, the I Am. . . . But as we 
travel in thought down the ages, we meet a gen- 
tle, weary Man, on whom the shadow of coming 
sorrow hangs darkly. Within a few miles of the 
spot where they had been first uttered, he takes 
up these very words, and applying them to him- 
self, he says, " I am the good Shepherd." 

Combine the two : the august word for the 
everlasting God, and the tender word for the 
Saviour ; and we have a worthy title for our Lord, 
Jehovah-Jesus. Let us read it into our psalm, 
and say with a new appreciation of its meaning, 
" Jehovah-Jesus is my Shepherd. " What need 
can we have that is not met by this twofold 
nature ? As Jehovah, he has all power ; as 
Jesus, all sympathy. As Jehovah, he sustains 
all worlds ; as Jesus, he ever liveth to make in- 
tercession. As Jehovah, he is sovereign Lord of 
all ; as Jesus, he still treads the pathways of this 
world by our side, whispering sweetly and softly, 
" Fear not, little flock." How safe and blest are 
you to whom the Lord is Shepherd ! Put down 
this volume, and repeat again, in holy reverie, the 
well-known words to the end. — "The Shepherd 
Psalm." 




LORD. 



It is printed in small cap- 



!59 



MAY 26. 



Meyer. 



That he by the grace of God should taste 
death for every man. — Heb. 2 : 9. 



Christ's Cup. 

REMEMBER his own words in the garden, 
when his agony had passed, and the ruf- 
fian band was about to bind him, and Peter im- 
petuously drew his sword : " Then said the Lord 
unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath ; 
the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I 
not drink it ? " 

Consider the ingredients of Christ's cup, — the 
shame and spitting ; the pain and anguish ; 
the physical torture ; and, above all, the bitter- 
ness of our sins, which were made to meet in 
him ; the guilt of our curse, which he voluntarily 
assumed ; the equivalent of our punishment 
which was imputed to him. If we may so put it, 
the human race stood in one long line, each with 
a cup of hemlock in his hand ; and Christ, pass- 
ing along, took from each his cup and poured its 
contents into the vast beaker which he carried ; 
so that on the cross " he tasted death for every 
man." Thus our lives brim with salvation, be- 
cause his brimmed with condemnation. Our cup 
is one of joy, because his cup was one of sor- 
row. Our cup is one of blessedness, because 
his was one of God-forsakenness. Never forget 
the cost at which your brightest moments have 
been made possible. — " The Shepherd Psalm." 



160 



Meyer. 



MAY 27. 



Looking unto Jesus. — Heb. 12:2. 



Our Ideals. 



OR many years General Gordon was my 



± ideal. How I read and read again, the 
story of his life, and the inner story given in his 
letters ! That utter trust in God to fulfil through 
him his divine purpose, that indifference to 
praise or blame so long as he was pleased, that 
singleness of purpose, that strength of soul, that 
humility which would not keep the presents of 
the emperor lest they should foster a spirit of 
ostentation ! 

But there is no ideal like that presented in the 
character of the man Christ Jesus ; no motto so 
wholesome and inspiring as to ask, " What would 
Jesus have done ? " no ambition so ennobling as 
to walk through the world being as absolutely 
Christlike as possible, so that weary and fallen 
souls may look up to us, and think that Christ 
has come again to the world, and bless God for us. 

Do not slur over your failure to reach your 
ideal as if it were a trifling and insignificant 
matter. Confess it to yourself, to your com- 
panion in it, and above all, to God. Nothing 
will so soon spoil the ear of the singer as in- 
attention to the minor inaccuracies of execution 
and expression. When once you permit your- 
self to fall beneath your best, you begin to drift 
rapidly to the worst. O for grace to be merciless 
to ourselves ! But be merciful to others. Com- 
pare their worst with your worst ; and not as so 
many do, other people's worst with your best. — 
The Golden Rule. 




161 



MAY 28. 



Meyer. 



Silver and gold have I none ; but such as I 
have give I thee. — Acts 3 : 6. 

What Have You to Give? 

THERE was a great contrast between the 
Gate Beautiful and the helpless beggar that 
lay at its foot. But there was a greater contrast 
still between the appearance of the two apostles 
and the resources concealed beneath their humble 
guise. To the eye of the world they were but 
two poor peasants ; before the gaze of God's 
angels they stood possessed of a secret that 
would unlock the measureless stores of eternity. 
" Silver and gold have I none,'" said Peter ; " but 
such as I have give I thee.". . . What did he 
include in this ? You may be sure he did not 
refer to his vehemence, or cowardice ; these would 
have been a sorry gift indeed. He must have 
referred to the blessed gifts that had come to 
hand through the grace of his risen Lord. 

The world has been enriched more through 
the poverty of its saints than by the wealth of its 
millionaires. Francis of Assisi, Xavier, Thomas 
a Kempis, and Luther ; the men whose hymns 
and words and achievements are the priceless 
heritage of the ages ; the martyrs, confessors, re- 
formers, prophets, teachers, and leaders of men, 
have all been classed in that noble brotherhood 
which Peter represented when he became the 
medium through which the wealth of paradise 
passed into the common coinage of earth. These 
men have given blood, tears, spiritual impulses, 
faith, hope, love. What have you to give ? — The 
GoldeJi Rule. 



162 



Meyer. 



MAY 29. 



Look not every man on his own things, but 
every man also on the things of others. — Phil. 
2:4. 

A Holiday Sermon. 

WE must be unselfish if we would really 
enjoy our holidays. The usual crowd of 
holiday-makers is supremely selfish. It is so 
difficult to resist the temptation to rush for the 
best seats, to get the first serving, to obtain the 
best possible return for our money, and a little 
over. " Every one for himself/' is the cry when 
the train draws up at the station, and is timed to 
wait there just ten minutes for dinner. But it 
does not pay. The fever and fret of it all takes 
away from the enjoyment and benefit of our trip, 
and I am not sure that we come off so much 
better than others. Lately I have tried to abide 
in God amid these agitating circumstances, asking 
him to arrange and plan for me ; and I have found 
it a most blessed secret of rest and health. He 
is as anxious as you could be that his children 
should have a good time ; he will perform all 
things for them ; and, if he selects something 
other than you wished, look at it, and you will 
find it really better. 

Always think of some one else, — the short 
Zacchaeus who cannot see over you, the little 
child that loves to be by the window of the 
carriage, the invalid that cannot stand the 
draught, the mother with the children, the timid 
girl. Look out for daily opportunities for show- 
ing the meekness and gentleness, the sweetness 
and unselfishness, of Jesus. — The Golden Ride. 

163 



MAY 30. 



Meyer. 



Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 
all the days of my life. — Ps. 23 : 6. 

Twin Angels of God. 

T T , T E sometimes stand, as it were, on the brow 
V V °f an overhanging hill, peering wonder- 
ingly into the valley at our feet, and asking what 
kind of days lie there, enveloped in the impene- 
trable mists, which only part as we advance. 
What lies in the course of the years ? Will the 
days be golden, lit by heaven's warm, sunny glow ? 
Will they be red-letter, not only in the usual sense 
of the word, but because stained with the blood 
of suffering and sacrifice ? Will they be drab, 
attired in sombre tints, dark and sad ? — birth- 
days ; death days ; marriage days ; anniversaries 
of a dead past which refuses to be forgotten ; 
fast days ; feast days ; saint days, because asso- 
ciated with some whom we have known and 
loved as the very elect of God. Only a few 
short hours, — like the flash of a revolving light 
seen far out at sea between two long pauses of 
black darkness, — and yet how much of weal or 
woe, of bitter memory and eager foreboding may 
be crowded into one brief space of time, which 
we call a day ! But there will never come a day 
throughout all the future in which we shall not 
have two guardian angels, heavenly escorts, God- 
sent messengers, Goodness and Mercy ; who have 
been commissioned to attend the believer during 
all the days of his earthly pilgrimage. — " The 
Shepherd Psalm." 



164 



Meyer. 



MAY 31. 



In my Father's house are many mansions. — 
John 14 : 2. 

Our Heavenly Home. 

HEAVEN is a home. Can you have any 
conception of what the home-going will 
be, when amid the welcoming shouts the last child 
reaches the Father's house, and the whole family 
in heaven and earth is gathered in the Father's 
house forever and forever ? Never again to part I 
Never again to go out ! Never again to break 
up the long, happy, glorious home festival ! 

" O to be little children again, and to have 
others providing for our comfort and our joy, in- 
stead of having to fend for ourselves, and to be 
the source of all to others ! " And mingling w r ith 
such natural yearnings may be the tears of recent 
bereavement, the thought of graves so new that 
the flowers have not had time to root themselves 
in the fresh soil. 

Come, it will not do for us to indulge in 
thoughts like these ! They unfit us for the stern 
realities of life. They unnerve us. Let us not 
dwell on them. If the paradise of the past is 
lost, there is another and a better paradise before 
us — the paradise of our Father's home. Let us 
set our thoughts on the friends before us, who, 
thank God, are those " whom we have loved long 
since, and lost awhile." Blessed are the home- 
sick, for they shall reach home ! — " The Shep- 
herd Psalm." 



165 



JUNE WITH 
ADONIRAM JUDSON GORDON. 



REV. A. J. GORDON. 

June. 



Gordon. 



JUNE I. 



Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at 
peace. — Job 22 : 21. 

Acquaintance with God. 

REMEMBER that acquaintance with God 
can come through no casual introduction. 
Calling on God in the morning and leaving your 
visiting-card of devotion, but having no care 
as to whether you find him at home, and really 
catch sight of his face ; talking to God through 
an interpreter, — through the minister or the 
sacraments or the hymn-book, — but knowing 
nothing of real and intimate personal conversa- 
tion with him, — this is not acquaintance with 
God.' It is a kind of society etiquette, in which 
we seek to be polite to our neighbors, even 
though we care nothing about them. Beware 
of formalism. It is the decorum of religion. 
And what will it avail, though we be deeply 
skilled therein, if we know not what it is to have 
" fellowship with the Father and with his Son, 
Jesus Christ " ? What earnest prayer ! What pro- 
found meditation upon the Word ! What chas- 
tening of the inward and outward cross there 
must be in order that we may truly know God ! 
. . . O Christians, be intimate with God. There 
are two poles to our life ; and, if we would be 
near to God, we must be remote from the world. 
Let the earthward senses be blunted, — love of 
pleasure, love of fashion, love of display, — and 
just in proportion will the heavenly affection 
grow stronger. — The Watchword. 



169 



JUNE 2. 



Gordon. 



Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, 
he will guide you into all truth. . . . He shall 
glorify me : for he shall receive of mine, and shall 
show it unto you. — John 16 : 13, 14. 

The Spirit Revealing Jesus. 

THE Spirit of Jesus alone can reveal to men 
the lordship of Jesus, and this key of 
knowledge the Holy Ghost will never put into the 
hand of the unspiritual man, however learned he 
may be. As it is written that Christ is the " ray- 
ing forth " of the Father's glory, and the " express 
image of his person " (Heb. 1 : 3), thus by a 
beautiful figure reminding us that, as we can 
only see the sun in the rays of the sun, so we 
can only know God in Jesus Christ, who is the 
manifestation of God. It is so, likewise, between 
the second and third persons of the Trinity. 
Christ is the image of the invisible God ; the 
Holy Ghost is the invisible image of Christ. As 
Jesus manifested the Father outwardly, the Spirit 
manifests Jesus inwardly, forming him within us 
as the hidden man of the heart, imaging him to 
the spirit by an interior impression which no 
intellectual instruction, however diligent, can 
effect. . . . As he is called the " Spirit of Christ," 
as revealing Christ in his suffering and glory, so 
he is called the " Spirit of truth," as manifesting 
the truth in all its depths and heights. As im- 
possible as it is that we should know 7 the person 
of Christ without the Spirit of Christ who reveals 
him, so impossible is it that we should know the 
truth as it is in Jesus without the Spirit of truth 
who is appointed to convey it. — " The Ministry 
of the Spirit." 

170 



Gordon. 



JUNE 3. 



He must increase, but I must decrease. — John 
3 : 30. 

A Parable. 

IN the part of New England where I spend 
my summer holidays, I have seen a parable 
of nature. Two little saplings grew up side by 
side. Through the action of the wind they 
crossed each other. By and by the bark of 
each became wounded, and the sap began to 
mingle, until in some still day they became 
united together. After they were firmly com- 
pacted, the stronger began to absorb the life of 
the weaker. It grew larger and larger, while the 
other grew smaller and smaller. And now there 
are two trunks at the bottom, but only one at the 
top. Death has taken away the one, life has 
triumphed in the other. There was a time when 
you first were united to Jesus Christ. But how 
is it now ? Has the word been accomplished in 
you, " He must increase, but I must decrease " ? 
Has the old life been growing less and less, until 
it has almost disappeared, and the life of Jesus 
become all in all ? Self-life must decrease ; Jesus 
must increase. This is the process : 

" All of self and none of thee, 
Some of self and some of thee ; 
Less of self and more of thee, 
None of self and all of thee." 

— Missionary Review. 



171 



JUNE 4. 



Gordon. 



For I have given you an example. — John 13 : 
15. Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ 
liveth in me. — Gal. 2 : 20. 

Christ Our Example and Our Life. 

HOW is the likeness of Christ acquired ? 
Through contemplation and imitation ? 
So some have taught. And it is true, if only the 
indwelling Spirit is behind all, beneath all, and 
effectually operative in all. It is only the Spirit 
of the Lord dwelling within us that can fashion 
us to the image of the Lord set before us. Who 
is sufficient by external imitation of Christ to 
become conformed to the likeness of Christ? 
Imagine one without genius and devoid of the 
artist's training, sitting down before Raphael's 
famous picture of the transfiguration, and at- 
tempting to reproduce it. How crude and mechan- 
ical and lifeless his work would be ! But if such 
a thing were possible that the spirit of Raphael 
should enter into the man and obtain the mastery 
of his mind and eye and hand, it would be en- 
tirely possible that he should paint this master- 
piece ; for it would simply be Raphael reproducing 
Raphael. And this in a mystery is what is true 
of the disciple filled with the Holy Ghost. 
Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, is 
set before him as his divine pattern, and Christ, 
by the Spirit, dwells within him as a divine life, 
and Christ is able to image forth Christ from the 
interior life to the outward example. — " The 
Ministry of the Spirit." 



172 



Gordon. 



JUNE 5. 



Behold, I stand at the door, and knock : if any 
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will 
come in to him. — Rev. 3 : 20. 

Dwelleth the Son of God with Thee? 

IT may be a question whose loss is the greater, 
his who thinks that Christ is present with 
him when he is not, or he who thinks not that 
Christ is present with him when he is. Recall 
the story of the missing child Jesus, and how it 
is said that " they, supposing him to be in the 
company, went forward a day's journey." Alas, 
of how many nominal Christians this is true to- 
day ! They journey on for years, saying prayers, 
reciting creeds, pronouncing confessions, giving 
alms, and doing duties, imagining all the time 
that because of these things Christ is with them. 
Happy are they if their mistake is not discovered 
too late for them to retrace their steps, and to 
find, through personal regeneration, the renewed 
heart which constitutes the absolute essential to 
companionship with the Son of God. 

On the other hand, how many true Christians 
toil on, bearing burdens and assuming responsi- 
bilities far too great for their natural strength, 
utterly forgetful that the mighty Burden-bearer of 
the world is with them to do for them and through 
them that which they have undertaken to ac- 
complish alone ! Happy also for these if some 
weary day the blessed Paraclete, the invisible 
Christ, shall say to them, "Have I been so long a 
time with you, and yet hast thou not known me ?" — 
" How Christ Came to Church." 



x 73 



JUNE 6. 



Gordon. 



Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for out of it 
are the issues of life. — Prov. 4 : 23. 

Being Good and Doing Good. 

JV /TORALISM always begins at the wrong 
IV A en d, attempting to grow trees from trunk 
to root, and to build its house from top to bottom. 
Remember, w T e do not do good in order to become 
good, but we become good in order to do good. 
We must have the life of God in our souls before 
we can do the works of God w T ith our hands. . . . 
If a clock does not keep good time, it is of little 
use to put the hands forward to-day because it is 
too slow 7 , or move them back to-morrow because 
it is too fast. The thing to be done is to repair 
the inside of the clock, to regulate its wheels and 
springs so that it will move the hands correctly. 
So when a man does wrong, lies, steals, cheats, 
or gets drunk, it is no use to try to regulate his 
hands or his feet or his tongue or his mouth, in 
order to make him kind and sober and truthful. 
His heart must be made right before his actions 
will become right. This is what Jesus meant 
when he said : " For out of the heart proceed 
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, 
thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are 
the things which defile a man" (Matt. 15 : 19). 
Therefore he came to regulate the heart ; to put 
a new 7 mainspring in it by regeneration ; to put a 
new love into it by giving us the Holy Spirit, so 
that we should do the things we did not once do, 
and love the things we did not once love. — The 
Watchword. 



174 



Gordon. 



JUNE 7. 



Be ye holy, for I am holy. — 1 Pet. 1 : 16. 
Be Ye Holy. 

HOLINESS is the chief and characteristic 
attribute of disciples of Christ. Indeed, 
to speak of an unholy Christian would be as pal- 
pable a contradiction as to speak of frozen fire or 
a dark light. ... Be ye holy,y^r I am holy. If 
we are sons of God we are bound to be like God ; 
we have his life and that life is holy ; therefore 
ours, which is the emanation of his, must be holy. 
Then in our weakness we ask, " Can one be 
holy ? " The startling answer is, " Whatsoever 
is born of God cannot sin" Why ? " Because 
his seed remaineth in him." That is, he has 
God's life ; that is, in its nature and essence, sin- 
less, as truly as ours' is in its nature sinful. 
According to Scripture, holiness is a second 
nature to the Christian, inherited through the 
second birth. 

Therefore, O Christian, be what you are born 
to be. God needs you to utter his thought, and 
to express his image. The Christian is the 
world's Bible. Never was there such a demand 
as now for genuine editions of this book, printed 
in large capitals and illuminated text, that he who 
runs may read. Strive therefore to be such that 
Christ may not be ashamed of you at his coming, 
that he may not have to apologize for you to the 
angels. It will be blessed when he appears if he 
can present you before the presence of the Father 
with exceeding joy, saying, " Thou art perfect 
through my comeliness which is upon thee." — 
The Watchword. 



!75 



JUNE 8. 



Gordon. 



That ye may be found of him without spot. 
— 2 Pet. 3 : 14. 



NLY one who has been washed and sancti- 



\_y fied can be without spot. We speak of 
" spots on the sun," but never of spots on the 
midnight. For the midnight is altogether black, 
and can be neither specked nor disfigured with 
dark patches. So a sinner, who is altogether 
a sinner, is not exhorted to keep himself " unspot- 
ted from the world," since he is already steeped 
and dyed in dark worldliness. To such an one, 
the first gospel is, " The blood of Jesus Christ, 
his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." Therefore 
wash you, and make you clean in the blood of 
the Lamb. 

But to those who have known the washing of 
regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, the 
word is that they hate " even the garment spotted 
by the flesh." If blacking and soot are found 
upon the clothing of the chimney-sweep, nobody 
remarks upon it, for it is his calling to live in the 
dirt. But if ink-stains and smut are seen on the 
white satin dress of the bride as she moves up 
the aisle to her marriage, it will create a kind of 
horror and disgust in the minds of the spectators. 
Christians, you are the bride of Immanuel, wait- 
ing for his coming, that you may enter with him 
into the marriage supper of the Lamb. " Let 
your garments be always white," is the word of 
the Lord to you ; you have been washed in the 
blood of the Lamb. — The Watchword, 



Without Spot. 




176 



Gordon. 



JUNE 9. 



For to me to live is Christ. — Phil. 1:21. 

Finger=post Disciples. 

A GREAT many Christians are like guide- 
boards ; they point to Christ, but do not 
appear to be going towards him very fast them- 
selves. On the contrary, their confession, un- 
matched by consecration, makes them appear to 
be pointing one way, and living another. God 
spare us from being mere finger-post disciples, 
directing men in the straight and narrow way, 
and yet standing in that way year after year, 
cold, passionless, and unmoved, never by a rug- 
ged self-denial giving any proof that we are 
going in that way ourselves. " Looking unto 
Jesus," and by the whole bent and aim and 
energy of our lives showing that we are living 
for him and seeking his glory, we should turn 
men to him. I saw a man a few days since stop 
in the crowded throngs of State Street, and look 
up steadily at some object which had arrested 
his attention, and in five minutes a crowd of 
more than fifty gathered around, looking up 
also. "Ah," thought I, " if Christians would live 
every day with their eye on the risen and ever- 
blessed Lord, showing by their self-denial and 
unworldliness that he is the central and supreme 
object of their affection, how they would gather 
men of the world about them ; how they would 
lift the earthward gaze of the world to Christ ! " — 
The Watchword, 

i77 



JUNE 10. 



Gordon. 



The promise of my Father. — Luke 24 : 49. 
The Promise of the Holy Spirit. 

WE read that "when all the people were 
baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also 
being baptized and praying, the heaven was 
opened.". . . What is he praying about ? Most 
clearly he is asking for the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. Is there any promise he can plead ? I 
think I may almost say he would most naturally 
use this : " And the spirit of the Lord shall rest 
upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understand- 
ing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of 
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." 

When the disciples on the day of Pentecost 
came together to pray, they had a definite prom- 
ise also. They were told to " wait for the promise 
of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of 
me. For John truly baptized with water, but 
ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not 
many days hence." They pleaded the promise, 
and the Holy Ghost came upon them. . . . 
And what promise shall we plead in these 
days ? Here is one : " If a son shall ask bread 
of any of you that is a father, will he give him a 
stone ? Or if he ask for a fish, will he for a fish 
give him a serpent ? Or if he ask an egg, will he 
offer him a scorpion ? If ye then, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your heavenly Father give 
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ! " That 
is our promise. Has it not been fulfilled again 
and again in our day ? — Address at Student 
Volunteer Convention. 



178 



Gordon. 



JUNE II. 



As my Father hath sent me, even so send I 
you. — John 20 : 21. 

Christ's Dependence on the Holy Spirit. 

U TT is one of the great principles of Christian- 
ity," says Pascal, " that whatever happened 
to Jesus Christ should come to pass in the soul 
and body of every believer." Jesus Christ was 
the first great foreign missionary. ... I desire 
to remind you that he did not enter upon his 
mission until he had himself sought and obtained 
the special gracious anointing of the Holy Ghost 
for his work ; and all through his mission and 
his ministry he depended upon the Holy Spirit 
just as he requires and commands that we 
should. If we ask him how he cast out devils, 
we hear him answer, " I by the Spirit of God do 
cast out devils." If we ask him how it was pos- 
sible that he had power to lay down his life and 
take it up again, that he could yield himself up 
to God as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, 
we read the answer in the epistle to the He- 
brews, that he, through the eternal Spirit, ofTered 
himself up without spot to God. And after he 
rose from the dead, we read that " he was taken 
up, after that he, through the Holy Ghost, had 
given commandment unto his apostles." Thus 
from his baptism to his ascension he wrote and 
spoke and acted under the power and inspira- 
tion of the Holy Ghost. I am sure, therefore, it 
will be very obvious that if he needed the Spirit, 
much more do we. — Address at Student Vol- 
unteer Convention. 



179 



JUNE 12. 



Gordon. 



Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, 
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you ? — 
i Cor. 3 : 16. 

Where Is the Holy Ghost? 

ESUS said, " If I go away I will send the 



Spirit unto you." He goes up; the Spirit 



J comes down. He is there ; the Spirit is here. 
He is seated on the right hand of God, and when 
the Holy Ghost came down, he sat on each of 
the disciples. The real seat of the Holy Ghost 
is in every little church composed of those whose 
hearts have been cleansed and given up to his 
indwelling. As truly as Christ is there, so is 
the Spirit here. As Stephen looking up into 
the heaven could say, " I see the Son of man 
standing on the right hand of God," so the 
angels of God looking down can say, " I see the 
Holy Ghost dwelling in the hearts of men." 

The body is the shrine in which Jesus Christ, 
in the person of the Holy Spirit, dwells to-day. 
" Know ye not that ye are the temple of the 
Holy Ghost ? " Let us keep this thought in our 
minds. He is not there, but here. How you 
would slight his presence by supposing him to 
be absent ! If it is a slight to forget an absent 
friend, how much more is it to forget a present 
friend ! 

The Holy Ghost is here. Wonderful fact! 
Believe it, act upon it. If you want to be of 
service to Jesus Christ, take the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. May God lead you to seek this gift and 
this power even now, and let you go out with 
new joy because you have received it. — The 
Watchword. 




180 



Gordon. 



JUNE 13. 



Be filled with the Spirit. — Eph. 5:18. 

Filled with the Spirit. 

HERE is something that is given as a direct 
duty, — " Be ye filled with the Spirit." 
How can I ? some one asks. The answer is 
often made, You must empty yourself before you 
can be filled with the Holy Ghost. But who is 
sufficient to empty himself ? I believe God's 
way is rather the expulsive power of a new 
affection, throwing off and casting away the old, 
of which we cannot rid ourselves. There are 
two ways of emptying a tumbler of water : you 
can turn it upside down, or you may drop quick- 
silver into it drop by drop until all the water has 
gone out. Suppose you begin in the same way 
to seek the Holy Spirit, and see if in that way, 
— getting filled with the Holy Ghost, — that 
which you desire to have cast out is not cast 
out. The Spirit of the Lord within us is ade- 
quate to cast out the evil spirit that still desires 
to hold sway. 

How was it with the great apostle ? He was 
told that he was a chosen vessel to bear Christ's 
name far hence among the Gentiles. How was 
that vessel prepared ? God suddenly, after he 
had been converted, poured the Holy Spirit into 
him. Ananias was sent to pray for him and lay 
his hands upon him that he might receive the 
Holy Ghost, and immediately, it is stated, being 
full of the Holy Ghost, he said thus and did 
thus. — Address at Student Volunteer Con- 
vention. 

181 



JUNE 14. 



Gordon. 



Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess ; 
but be rilled with the Spirit. — Eph. 5:18. 

God=intoxicated Jlen. 

THAT the filling of the Spirit belongs to us 
as a covenant privilege seems to be clear 
from the exhortation in the epistle to the Ephe- 
sians, which is confessedly of universal applica- 
tion. " Be not drunken with wine, wherein is 
excess, but be filled with the Spirit." The pas- 
sive verb employed here is suggestive. The 
surrendered will, the yielded body, the emptied 
heart, are the great requisites to his incoming. 
And when he has come and filled the believer, 
the result is a kind of passive activity, as of one 
wrought upon and controlled, rather than of one 
directing his own efforts. Under the influence 
of strong drink there is an outpouring of all that 
the evil spirit inspires, — frivolity, profanity, and 
riotous conduct. "Be God - intoxicated men," 
the apostle would seem to say ; " let the Spirit 
of God so control you, that you shall pour your- 
self out in psalms and hymns and spiritual 
songs." If such divine enthusiasm has its perils, 
we believe that they are less to be dreaded than 
that " moderatism " which makes the servants of 
God satisfied with the letter of Scripture, if only 
that letter be skilfully and scientifically handled, 
rather than giving the supreme place to the 
Spirit, as the inspirer and motor of all Christian 
service. — "The Ministry of the Spirit." 



182 



Gordon. 



JUNE 15. 



I can do all things through Christ which 
strengtheneth me. — Phil. 4:13. 

Attempt Great Things. 

WE are here conducting the King's busi- 
ness, be it remembered. Under the dis- 
pensation of the Spirit our ability is no longer 
the measure of our responsibility. " The things 
which are impossible with men are possible with 
God," and therefore possible for us who have 
been united to God through faith. Since the 
Holy Ghost has been given, it is not sufficient 
for the servant to say to his Master, " I am 
doing as well as I can," for now he is bound to 
do better than he can. Should a New York 
merchant summon his commercial agent in Bos- 
ton to come to him as quickly as possible, would 
he be satisfied if that agent were to arrive at the 
end of a week, footsore and weary from walking 
the entire distance, with the excuse, " I came as 
quickly as I could " ? With swift steamer or 
lightning express at his disposal, was he not 
bound to come more quickly than he could ? 
And so, with the power of Christ as our resource, 
and his riches of glory as our endowment, we 
are called upon to undertake what we have neither 
the strength nor the funds of ourselves to accom- 
plish. The enterprise of evangelizing the world 
is peculiarly the Lord's. Is it not time that we 
cease to lay out God's work according to our 
ability, and begin to lay out God's work accord- 
ing to God's ability? — Missionary Review, 

" Attempt great things for God, 
Expect great things from God." 

183 



JUNE 16. 



Gordon. 



If thou dost not speak to warn the wicked 
from his way, that wicked man shall die in his 
iniquity ; but his blood will I require at thine 
hand. — Ezek. 33 : 8. 



Our Duty to Perishing Millions. 

ORGET not that your first and principal 



business as a disciple of Christ is to give the 
gospel to those who have it not. He who is not 
a missionary Christian will be a missing Christian 
when the great day comes for bestowing the re- 
wards of service. 

Therefore ask yourself daily what the Lord 
would have you do in connection with the work 
of carrying the news of salvation to the perishing 
millions. Search carefully whether he would 
have you go yourself to the heathen, if you have 
the youth and fitness required for the work. 

Or, if you cannot go in person, inquire dili- 
gently what blood-mortgage there is on your prop- 
erty in the interest of foreign missions — how 
much you owe to the heathen because of what 
you owe to Christ for redeeming you with his 
precious blood. I warn you that it will go hard 
with you when your Lord comes to reckon with 
you if he finds your wealth invested in superflu- 
ous luxuries or hoarded up in needless accumula- 
tions, instead of being sacredly devoted to giving 
the gospel to the lost. But remember that con- 
secrated giving will be impossible unless there 
be first a consecrated giver. — Clarendon Light, 




184 



Gordon. 



JUNE 17. 



See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. — 
Heb. 12 : 25. Whatsoever he saith unto you, 
do it. — John 2 : 5. 

Saying No. 

MR. SWAN, a pastor in Birmingham, who 
knew William Carey intimately, said of 
him, in an address after his decease : " If he had 
any defect in his character, I should say that it 
was that he was too easy. He once said to me, 
' Brother Swan, I am not fitted for discipline ; I 
never could say " no " ; I began to preach at Moid- 
ton because I could not say "no" ; /went to Leicester 
because I could ?iot say " no" ; I became a mission- 
ary because I could ?iot say "no"'" 

Would that a multitude of disciples might be 
found with this infirmity of being unable to say 
" no " to the great commission ! The power of 
weakness is often more serviceable in the king- 
dom of God than the power of strength, and a 
man's cannot more useful to the Lord than his 
can. 

Therefore we believe that in this time, when 
the Lord is so powerfully reaffirming his great 
commission through the Holy Ghost, and when 
he is calling so loudly for men and money to exe- 
cute that commission, the greatest demand is for 
Christians who cannot say "no." Not a grudg- 
ing " can " but an irrepressible " cannot " is most 
urgently required. 

Never say " no " to God. 

— Missionary Review. 

185 



JUNE 1 8. 



Gordon. 



Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how 
he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 
— Acts 20 : 35. 

The Gain of Giving. 

IT is said that when the American Board of 
Foreign Missions asked the Legislature of 
Massachusetts for an act of incorporation, one 
member opposed it, saying, " We have little 
enough religion at home, without exporting any." 
Another replied, " Gentlemen, religion is a com- 
modity of which the more you export, the more 
you have at home." The reply was as apt for 
its wisdom as for its wit. . , . What can so en- 
rich one's store of religion as to be constantly 
drawing upon it for the blessing and enriching of 
others ? Giving is the very instinct of self-pres- 
ervation. And the Christian heart that attempts 
to narrow its love, its sympathy, and its prayers 
within the circle of its own home will find this 
very home left cold and vacant by it ere long. 
. . . The streams which the ocean has begotten 
by her mists and vapors all flow back again into 
her own bosom. 

The gifts of our hands, our gold and silver, our 
labor and self-denial, all come back to us in even 
greater blessing than they carry from us. And, 
if we must seek first our own interests in the 
kingdom of Christ, let us not forget what princi- 
ples of religious economy, as well as of spiritual 
beauty, lie wrapped up in the words of the Lord 
Jesus, " It is more blessed to give than to receive." 
— Tract. 



186 



Gordon. 



JUNE 19. 



Not grudgingly, or of necessity : for God loveth 
a cheerful giver. — 2 Cor. 9 : 7. 

Giving Our Money. 

GOD does not ask us to give men, but to pray 
the Lord of the harvest to send forth labor- 
ers into his harvest. We cannot give men ; they, 
having a will, must give themselves. But God 
does ask us to give money. He calls and qualifies 
the workmen ; but, as a gold sovereign or a silver 
dollar has no will of its own and can make no 
choice, we who have the money and the will must 
give it. Man must not rob God ; neither will God 
rob man ; /. he will not take our money as by 
force, but only by our free consent. Robbery 
lies very near to charity. If I take another man's 
money without his consent, even for a benevolent 
purpose, it becomes robbery ; if with his consent, 
and by argument and persuasion, it becomes char- 
ity. . . . We must begin with ourselves and set 
apart weekly a fixed proportion of our income, 
and hold it sacred to the Lord. When the He- 
brew laid his gift on the altar, it was his ; but 
when he had withdrawn his hand from it, it was 
God's ; and thereafter it would have been unpar- 
donable sacrilege to devote it to common uses. 
Christians will never give as they ought, until they 
begin to keep two purses — one for their own nec- 
essary expenses, and one for the Lord's work — 
from the latter of which they would no more draw 
for their own use than they would purloin from 
their neighbor's pocket. — Missionary Review, 



187 



JUNE 20. 



Gordon. 



And they came, every one whose heart stirred 
him up, and every one whom his spirit made 
willing, and they brought the Lord's offering. — - 
— Exod. 35 : 21. 

Consecrated Gifts. 

THERE is money and money ; and it is per- 
fectly certain that coins of exactly the same 
denomination may differ a million per cent in 
evangelical value, according as they bear only 
Caesar's image, or, with that, also the image and 
superscription of Christ. More consecrated 
money — money which has passed through the 
mint of prayer and faith and self-denial for the 
Lord's sake — is the greatest demand of our 
time. Does any one doubt that the two mites 
of that " certain poor widow " have brought a 
perpetual revenue into the Lord's treasury through 
the centuries, and are still yielding a large income 
to the church ? Christ must have computed the 
spiritual interest of her gift when he said, " She 
hath cast in more than they all." In her offer- 
ing there was sincere and whole-hearted conse- 
cration. She gave her all when she might have 
given a generous proportion — two mites, when 
she could have done her duty in giving but one. 
Her small gift, because representing entire con- 
secration, has been reaping compound interest 
throughout the centuries, till it has become the 
greatest of which we know. It is not a bare 
question of pounds and shillings and pence with 
which we have to deal in getting funds for mis- 
sions, but of securing gifts which are quoted at 
par value in the exchange of heaven. — Alissioji- 
ary Review. 

188 



Gordon. 



JUNE 21. 



He that winneth souls is wise. — Prov. i i : 30. 



Invest in Souls. 



MAN shall be more precious than gold." 



/~\ Hear that, O long-suffering and patient 
missionary, your stock will be at par. The poor 
souls which you dug out from the dark caverns 
of heathenism will be worth millions of such 
" corruptible things as silver and gold." Did 
the mother of the Gracchi present her own chil- 
dren to those who inquired concerning her treas- 
ures, saying, " These are my jewels " ? How 
much more will the missionary exult in his 
spiritual children in that day when the Lord 
shall " make up his jewels," presenting them be- 
fore the Redeemer, and before the angels, saying, 
" These are my riches !"..." Where can I 
invest most safely and profitably ? " is the ques- 
tion constantly asked on 'Change. Invest in 
souls ; seriously, deliberately, solemnly we urge 
you to invest in souls. There is no insurance on 
gold and silver that will protect them against the 
fires of the last day. But saved and glorified 
souls, — these are " the gold tried in the fire," 
out of which your crown of rejoicing shall be 
wrought. Get money, you may or may not, O 
Christian. But as you care aught for the rewards 
of heaven, fail not of getting souls. Get them 
at your own door ; get them from the ends of 
the earth ; but fail not to get them. — Missionary 
Review. 




189 



JUNE 22. 



Gordon. 



Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, 
redeeming the time. — Col. 4 : 5. 

Redeeming the Time. 

BLESSED are they who, in fidelity to the souls 
of men, and with gracious tact and courtesy, 
use their time and opportunities in pressing the 
claims of the gospel. For thereby we can make 
the most of our otherwise unused moments. For 
the question of the wisest economy of our time 
in this busy, hurrying age is one for us diligently 
to consider. If we each have twenty years re- 
maining to us for the Lord's service, our time is 
equal ; but the husbanding of it is another matter. 
Of a wise economy of time, Hannah More says : 
" It is just as in packing a trunk ; a good packer 
will get twice as much in as a bungler." Let us 
look after the minutes, which are like the gold- 
dust from the jeweller's bench, that were wasted 
unless gathered up, and coined and stamped with 
the image and superscription of Christ. " Re- 
deeming the time," writes Paul ; i. e., buying up 
for yourselves the opportunity or fitting occasion 
out of days that are filled with vanity and self- 
seeking. . . . Watch those whom you meet in 
the highways of life, in the thoroughfares of 
travel, and in the chances of acquaintanceship ; 
redeem the time. And then the apostle adds, 
" Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned 
with salt ; that ye may know how to answer every 
man." " Seasoned with salt," not all salt. Know 
how to talk politics with the politician, books 
with the scholar, crops with the farmer ; but 
know how to sift the salt of gracious admonition 
into all these conversations. — The Watchword. 



190 



Gordon. 



JUNE 23. 



Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take 
up the stumbling-block out of the way. — Isa. 57 : 
14. 

Facing Difficulties. 

" T HAVE ploughed around a rock in one of my 
fields for five years," said a farmer, " and I 
had broken a mowing-machine knife against it, 
besides losing the use of the ground in which it 
lay, all because I supposed it was such a large 
rock that it would take too much time and labor 
to remove it. But to-day, when I began to plough 
for corn, I thought that by and by I might break 
my cultivator against that rock ; so I took a crow- 
bar, intending to poke around it and find out its 
size, once for all. And it was one of the sur- 
prises of my life to find that it was little more 
than two feet long. It was standing on its edge, 
and so light that I could lift it into the wagon 
without help." 

" The first time you really faced your trouble, 
you conquered it," I replied aloud; but continued 
to enlarge upon the subject all to myself ; for I 
do believe that before we pray, or, better, while 
we pray, we should look our troubles straight in 
the face. 

We shiver and shake and shrink, and some- 
times do not dare to pray about a trouble because 
it makes it seem so real, not even knowing what 
we wish the Lord to do about it; when, if we 
would face the trouble, and call it by its name, 
one-half of its terror would be gone. — The 
Watchword. 



191 



JUNE 24. 



Gordon. 



Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker ! — 
ISA. 45 : 9. 

Doing God's Will. 



jL prove that our wills may not be done ; 
done, too, not by resistance, but by submission 
to God. You know that if the wind is blowing 
east, all the power on earth cannot change its 
course and cause it to blow west ; but the sea- 
man can, by adjusting his sail to it, make it carry 
him west. A ship often sails right in the op- 
posite direction from the wind. So, O Christian, 
while you may not change God's will, you may 
secure your own will by submitting to his, for 
God often does his will through giving us ours. 
Your will may be one of the channels through 
which God's will flows, so that the divine purpose 
is secured through gratifying the human desire 
and wish. This is very important to remember, 
as explaining in some degree, at least the relation 
of prayer to the will of God : that that will may 
include our prayers in the scheme of its dispensa- 
tion ; may have prearranged its dispensations with 
them in view. So that, so far from colliding with 
the divine purpose, and running counter to it, our 
.petitions may lie right in its line. . . . The conflict, 
the discord, the strife, of the world can never be 
healed till all bow to the One, and every " I will " 
falls on its knees and yields up its sceptre to 
" Thy will be done." There is no crisis in our 
experience when God's will needs to be altered 
by a hair's breadth. Prayer is not designed to 
bend God to us, but to bend us to God. — The 
Watchword, 




must be done, does not 



192 



Gordon. 



JUNE 25. 



And we know that all things work together 
for good to them that love God. — Rom. 8 : 28. 

All Things Working Together. 

HOW can all things work together ? By the 
guidance of infinite chance ? Wheels 
within wheels, and wheels playing into wheels, in 
the vast system of human circumstances, and all 
permitted to move according to their own sweet 
will ; is this the way in which all things work to- 
gether for good to God's saints ? We know it 
cannot be so. There must be a divine Superin- 
tendent directing all, and he can direct only as he 
knows all things from the beginning to the end. 
Here is a cause, and yonder, twenty years hence, 
is an effect. Unless God sees the relation of the 
two, how can he touch the keyboard of causes 
with his finger to-day, so as to effect our highest 
good a score of years in the future ? And God 
works at long range. He is no day-laborer, 
planning only from sunrise to sunset. We be- 
lieve that our pious grandmothers, praying and 
studying their Bibles in the lonely cottage among 
the hills, had much to do in shaping our Chris- 
tian characters. And when now we pray for suc- 
cess upon our labors, we seem to hear the Lord 
saying, " Before thou callest, I answered : and 
before thou knewest me, I girded thee." And 
we don't believe that God can make all things 
work together for good to his people unless he 
begins very far back and looks very far ahead. 
— The Watchword. 



l 93 



JUNE 26. 



Gordon. 



I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way 
which thou shalt go. — Ps. 32 : 8. 



OW can I be sure," says one, "that I 



can I be sure that I can even understand that 
will, to say nothing of doing it ? " " Nay, my 
child," says the gracious and tender Saviour, " I 
do not ask as much as that." The needle is not 
asked to steer the ship, but only to lie passive to 
the influence of the pole. 

It is a beautiful saying from one of our poets, 
who, speaking of our birth, says : " Every soul 
leaves port under sealed orders. We cannot 
know whither we are going or what we are to 
do, till the time comes for breaking the seal." 
But I can tell you something more beautiful than 
this. Every regenerated soul sets out on its voyage 
with an invisible Captain on board, who knows 
the nature of our sealed orders from the outset, 
and will shape our entire voyage accordingly 
if we will only let him. I have known Christians 
who have had as distinct orders from heaven 
concerning their work as though an audible voice 
had come to them from the skies. — Clarendon 
Light. 



Guidance. 




Yea, more, how 



Jesus, Saviour, pilot me, 
Over life's tempestuous sea. 



194 



Gordon. 



JUNE 27. 



I will guide thee with mine eye. — Ps. 32 : 8. 



Faith. 



AITH is the finest instinct in man, the 



JL most subtle and fine and unerring of all 
the organs of knowledge. Have you ever noticed 
how your child, who knows nothing yet of reason 
or argument, can read your unspoken meaning 
in your eye — your pleasure or your displeasure, 
your command or your prohibition ? His child- 
ishness puts him into perfect communion with 
your heart, so that he catches as by a magnetic 
flash the most delicate instructions of your will. 
" I will guide thee with mine eye, " says God to 
his sons. . . . 

Faith pleases God in the sense that it is the 
most filial, worshipful attitude of the spirit. It 
is the highest tribute of affection when your child 
dings to your hand as you approach a dangerous, 
dark, or frightful place, instead of letting go and 
refusing to follow you. 

In Genesis it is said : " And Enoch walked 
with God, and was not, for God took him," and 
in the quotation in the Hebrews it is said that 
" he pleased God and was translated." Let us 
believe that the expressions are synonymous. 
He walked with God in the fellowship of such a 
glorified childhood ; holding to his hand in such 
clinging intimacy of trust and communion with 
his heart, with such simple, utter reliance, that 
God never let go his hand, and at last lifted him 
up into heaven, instead of laying him in the 
grave. — The Watchword. 




*95 



JUNE 28. 



Gordon. 



Blessed be the Lord . . . there hath not failed 
one word of all his good promise. — 1 Kings 8 : 
56. 

Trusting God's Promises. 

" CT^HE prospect is as bright as the promise of 
God" was the answer of Dr. Judson to one 
who, in his impatience for results, had 
asked him what were the prospects in his field. 
Admirable reply ! A calculating age, reckoning 
evermore on numbers, size, and visibility, puts a 
great tax on those who work by faith. " Show us 
your success, and we will give you our money," 
is the constant challenge of worldly prudence. 

The promises of God are certain, but they do 
not all mature in ninety days. ... It should 
ever be borne in mind that the final award reads, 
"Well done, good and faithful servant," not 
"good and successful servant." Our business is 
to carry Christ to all the world, to carry him 
into barren fields as well as into fertile fields. 
How slowly the seed of life germinates and 
brings forth ! The kingdom of God is not a 
mushroom, springing up in a night; we may re- 
joice if it is even a century-plant, blooming at 
the end of a hundred years. But the promises 
of God cannot fail ; all that he has spoken con- 
cerning the triumphs of the gospel must come 
to pass ; and it is for us to labor on in the king- 
dom and the patience of Jesus Christ. — Mis- 
sionary Review. 

" No word he hath spoken 
Was ever yet broken." 

196 



Gordon. 



JUNE 29. 



Having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that 
are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name 
of Christ depart from iniquity. — 2 Tim. 2 : 19. 

A Seal with a Twofold Inscription. 

THE two inscriptions on the seal denote 
ownership and holiness. . . . God cannot 
put his signature on what is not his. He is very 
jealous of his divine signet. He graciously 
bestows it upon those who are ready to devote 
themselves utterly and irrevocably to his service, 
but he strenuously withholds it from those 
who, while professing his name, are yet " serving 
divers lusts and pleasures." There is a suggestive 
passage in the Gospel of John, which, translated 
so as to bring out the antithesis it contains, 
reads thus : " Many trusted in his name, behold- 
ing the signs which he did; but Jesus did not 
trust himself to them." Can the Lord trust us ? 
Nay ; the question is more serious. Can he trust 
himself to us ? The Holy Spirit, which is his 
signet ring, can he commit it to our use for sign- 
ing our prayers and for certifying ourselves, and 
his honor not be compromised ? 

The other inscription on the seal is, " Let 
every one that nameth the name of the Lord 
depart from unrighteousness." The possession 
of the Holy Spirit commits us irrevocably to sepa- 
ration from sin. A sanctified life is the print or 
impression of his seal : he can never own us with- 
out his mark, the stamp of holiness. The devil's 
stamp is none of God's badge. — " The Minis- 
try of the Spirit." 



l 97 



JUNE 30. 



Gordon. 



Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so 5 
come, Lord Jesus. — Rev. 22 : 20. 

Our Lord's Second Coming. 

" r I A HE doctrine of the Lord's second coming 
X as it appears in the New Testament," says 
an eminent Scotch preacher, "is like a lofty 
mountain which dominates the entire landscape." 
An admirable illustration ! No matter what road 
you take, no matter what pass you tread, you 
will find the mountain bursting on your vision at 
every turn of the way. ... Is watchfulness amid 
the allurements of the world enjoined ? The ex- 
hortation is, " Watch therefore ; for ye know not 
what hour your Lord doth come." Is patience 
under trial and injustice counselled ? The word is, 
" Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming 
of the Lord" Is holy living urged ? This is the 
inspiring motive thereto : " That denying ungod- 
liness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, 
righteously, and godly, in this present world; 
looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing 
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." 
All paths of obedience and service lead onward 
to the mountain. Our command to serve bids us 
" occupy till L come." In observing the Lord's 
Supper we "show the Lord's death till he come." 
In the injunction to fidelity the word is that we 
" keep this commandment without spot, unrebuk- 
able until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
The commendation of the ideal church is, " Ye 
turned to God from idols to serve the living and 
true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven." — 
" How Christ Came to Church." 

198 



JULY WITH 
NINETEENTH CENTURY SERVANTS 
OF GOD. 




July. 



REV. ALEXANDER PROUDFIT. 



Austin Phelps. 



JULY I. 



Could ye not watch with me one hour? — 
Matt. 26 : 40. 

"Take Time to Be Holy." 

C TE are often in a religious hurry in our de- 



in them daily ? Can it not be easily reckoned in 
minutes ? 

Probably many of us would be discomposed by 
an arithmetical estimate of our communion with 
God. It might reveal to us the secret of much 
of our apathy in prayer, because it might disclose 
how little we desire to be alone with God. We 
might learn from such a computation that Augus- 
tine's idea of prayer, as " the measure of love," is 
not very flattering to us. We do not grudge time 
given to a privilege which we love. 

. . . Who ever knew an eminently holy man 
who did not spend much of his time in prayer ? 
Did ever a man exhibit much of the spirit of 
prayer, who did not devote much time to his 
closet ? Whitefield says, " Whole days and weeks 
have I spent prostrate on the ground, in silent or 
vocal prayer." " Fall upon your knees and grow 
there," is the language of another, who knew 
whereof he affirmed. 

It has been said that no great work in litera- 
ture or science was ever wrought by a man who 
did not love solitude. We may lay it down as 
an elemental principle of religion, that no large 
growth in holiness was ever gained by one who 
did not take time to be often, and long, alone 
with God. — " The Still Hour." 




How much time do we spend 



201 



JULY 2. 



Robert Murray McCheyne. 



O God, thou art my God ; early will I seek thee. 
— Ps. 63:1. 

Beginning the Day with God. 

I OUGHT to pray before seeing any one. 
Often when I sleep long, or meet with others 
early, and then have family prayer and break- 
fast, and forenoon callers, often it is eleven or 
twelve o'clock before I begin secret prayer. 
This is a wretched system. It is unscriptural. 
Christ rose before day, and went into a solitary 
place. David says, " Early will I seek thee." 
Mary Magdalene came to the sepulchre while it 
was yet dark. Family prayer loses much of 
its power and sweetness ; and I can do no good 
to those that come to seek me. The conscience 
feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. 
Then, when secret prayer comes, the soul is often 
out of tune. I feel it far better to begin with God 
— to see his face first — to get my soul near to 
him before it is near another. 

If I have slept too long, or am going on an 
early journey, it is best to dress hurriedly, and 
have a few minutes alone with God, than to give 
it up for lost. 

But in general it is best to have at least one 
hour alone with God, before engaging in anything 
else. At the same time I must be careful not 
to reckon communion with God by minutes or 
hours or solitude. I have pored over my Bible 
and on my knees for hours with little or no com- 
munion ; and my times of solitude have often 
been times of greatest temptation. — " Memoir 
of McCheyne " by Bonar. 

202 



Robert E. Speer. 



JULY 3. 



There is a time there for every purpose and 
for every work. — Eccl. 3:17. 

The Best Time for Bible=study. 

THE Bible ought to have the best time in 
the day, and for most men the best time 
in the day is the early morning hour, before a 
man's mind is soggy ; before he is weighted 
down ; before he has lost his fresh grip ; before 
other things have come in to disconcert, and 
turn his mind off into cross-roads and cross-pur- 
poses. That is the best time in the day for him. 
" Study the Bible," as Mr. Ruskin puts it, " mak- 
ing it your first daily business to understand some 
portion of it, and then your business the rest of 
the day to see that you obey what you do under- 
stand." Wesley used to rise at four o'clock in 
the morning, that he might have two hours for 
uninterrupted Bible study. 

What Robert Murray McCheyne, one of the 
saints of Scotland, says about the necessity of 
early morning prayer [see p. 202] is applicable to 
the necessity for early morning Bible-study, for 
just the reasons he names. ... It may be that 
some men cannot get a morning hour. For such, an 
evening hour should be chosen. All the better if 
a man can take a morning and an evening hour 
alike, or a morning and an evening half-hour or 
quarter-hour, and set those minutes aside relig- 
iously, — just as religiously as he sets aside hours 
for his sleep, hours for his eating, — ■ that he may 
devote them to the study of his Bible. — North- 
field Echoes. 



203 



JULY 4. 



Alexander McKenzie. 



Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. 
— Ps. 33: 12. 

Our Country. 

WE have a vast territory and twenty or 
thirty or forty different nationalities, and 
one government, with one flag and one ballot- 
box ; and we must bring all these nationalities 
together, and keep them together, and teach these 
different men to speak one language, to know one 
history, and to tear up their separate banners and 
weave their threads together into the Stars and 
Stripes. It is a tremendous undertaking. Can 
it be done ? I should despair of its being done, 
I think, if it were not for one thing, that God 
has taken it in hand. God brought Columbus ; 
it was God that founded that training-school in 
Holland ; it was God that brought the Mayflower 
over ; it was God that brought the Puritan ; God 
raised up Hancock and Adams and George 
Washington, and made out of these colonies one 
nation ; God that knit these separate colonies 
together and made us free ; and it is the purpose 
of God that there shall be here for the first time 
a republic which shall be, beyond all this, the 
kingdom of God upon the earth. — Northfield 
Echoes. 

" Our fathers' God, to thee, 
Author of liberty, 

To thee we sing. 
Long may our land be bright 
With freedom's holy light ; 
Protect us by thy might, 

Great God our King." 

204 



Charles G. Finney. 



JULY 5. 



Ye have not received the spirit of bondage 
again to fear. — Rom. 8:15. 



v^j ties chiefly because they dare not omit them. 
They go to the communion, not because they love 
to meet the Christ, or because they love to com- 
mune with their brethren, but because they dare 
not stay away. They fear the censures of the 
church, or they are afraid they shall be damned 
if they neglect it. They perform their closet 
duties, not because they enjoy communion with 
God, but because they dare not neglect them. 
. . . They betake themselves to religious duties 
as sick persons take medicine, not because they 
love it, but because they hope to derive some 
benefit by it. . . . They do not read the Bible 
because it is sweet to their souls, " sweeter than 
the honey or the honeycomb." They do not 
"enjoy" the reading as a person enjoys the 
most exquisite delights. They read it because 
it is their duty to read it ; it would not do to 
profess to be a Christian and not read the Bible ; 
but in fact they find it a dry book. . . . They 
have the spirit of slaves, and go about the ser- 
vice of God as slaves go about the service of 
their master, feeling that they are obliged to do 
about so much, or be beaten with many stripes. 
. . . Therefore they go through, painfully and 
laboriously enough, with about so many religious 
duties in a year, and that they call religion ! — 
" Lectures to Professing Christians." 




Legal Christians. 

tians perform their religious du- 



205 



JULY 6. 



Alexander Proudfit. 



They received the word with all readiness of 
mind, and searched the Scriptures daily. — Acts 
17 : II. 

Hints about Bible=study. 

THE best way to study the Bible is to study 
it, not merely to read it. The best prep- 
aration for study is prayer to God, for who can 
give us a right understanding of a book so well 
as the author of it ? I seldom read God's Word 
without first offering David's prayer, " Open 
thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous 
things out of thy law." Before engaging in 
extended study it is well to bring the mind 
into suitable frame by reading the 19th or the 
119th Psalm, those wonderful inspired com- 
mentaries on the Word. Beware of merely 
reading the Bible officially, that is, in order to 
teach others ; read it first of all that your own 
soul may be fed, and your own spiritual life 
may be kept above par ; then will you be able 
to teach it with power. Some have been greatly 
blessed by reading the Bible on their knees ; it 
is said that Whitefield read the entire Bible so. 
To most of us this would seem too great a task, 
but we might at least read the Psalms in that 
way. McCheyne says : " Turn the Bible into 
prayer. Thus, in reading the first Psalm, spread 
the Bible on the chair before you, and kneel and 
pray : ' O Lord, give me the blessedness of the 
man,' etc. 'Let me not stand in the council of 
the ungodly/ etc. This is the best way of know- 
ing the meaning of the Bible." 



206 



George Dana Boardman. 



JULY 7. 



Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold won- 
drous things out of thy law. — Ps. 119 : 18. 

Treasures Hidden in the Word. 

THE Bible is inexhaustible, having for the 
true student one meaning to-day, and an- 
other to-morrow ; and both meanings are true. 
In the Dresden gallery of royal gems there is 
a silver egg; touch a spring, and it opens, dis- 
closing a golden chicken ; touch the chicken, and 
it opens, disclosing a crown studded with gems ; 
touch the crown, and it opens, disclosing a mag- 
nificent diamond ring. So it is with the Bible; as 
we study it, we touch successive springs, disclos- 
ing exhaustless treasures. 

We must compare Scripture with Scripture, 
for the Bible is its own best commentator. We 
must study the Gospels in the light of each other ; 
for they constitute a beautiful specimen of divine 
mosaic, complementing and interpreting each 
other. So also the Acts of the Apostles often 
interpret in a striking way the epistles of Paul. 
And we must study the Old Testament not less 
than the New ; for both covenants form one 
divine unit, or rather unity. We must study 
Genesis in the light of Revelation, Exodus in 
the light of the Gospels, Leviticus in the light of 
Hebrews, Chronicles in the light of Acts, Psalms 
in the light of the epistles, Ezekiel in the light 
of the Apocalypse, and vice versa. — " Old 
Testament Student." 



207 



JULY 8. 



Anna Shipton. 



Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and 
with his Son Jesus Christ. — i John i : 3. 

Secret Communion. 

NOTHING can supply the place of secret com- 
munion, — deep realized intercourse with the 
Friend of sinners and the King of saints ! Stint 
not yourself of this privilege. Neither teaching, 
nor preaching, nor works; neither books of de- 
votion, nor communion of saints, can supply this 
loss. No commentary on his holy Word can 
bring you the fresh glory of the light he gives 
direct from himself. It is the bread broken and 
given you by his own hand for your daily suste- 
nance. Meditate upon it; then it will be your 
delight, and you will be able to say, " How sweet 
are thy words unto my taste ! " He has promised 
to manifest himself unto us as he doth not unto 
the world. Shall we not take God at his word ? 

As there is deeper anguish than language 
can express, but which is communicated sympa- 
thetically, so there are deeper foretastes of the 
fellowship with Jesus, which is hereafter to sat- 
isfy us, than can be told in words. You must 
yourself taste the sweetness to understand it. 

Do you ask for a joy that will never perish, a 
hope that will never wax dim, a peace passing 
all understanding ? Place your hand in the 
pierced hand of Jesus, and walk with God. — 
" Secret of the Lord." 



208 



Amos R. Wells. 



JULY 9. 



Lo, I am with you alway. — Matt. 28 : 20. 



A Revelation of God. 

IF you should look up from this page and see 
before you, standing by that table, or sitting 
in that chair, a plain man in plain clothes, his 
features also plain, perchance, except that from 
his eyes shone a light that never was on sea or 
land, and if this man should tell you he was 
Jesus, the Christ of God ; and if this plain man 
should at once prove by marvellous deeds and 
no less marvellous words that the thing was 
true ; if this experience should befall you at this 
minute, would you have a more real sense of 
Christ's presence than you have now ? 

And if this man should go out with you to 
your work, consult with you about your business, 
tug with you at something hard to lift, verify a 
column of figures for you, passing through your 
day with you as a visible, audible helper, would 
you take home with you at night a more vivid 
sense than usual of your great Elder Brother ? 

Then Christ is not as real to you as he should 
be ; then you need a revelation of him. . . . This 
revelation you may have through the Holy Spirit, 
whom the Father delights to send to those that 
ask him, and who, when he comes, delights to 
take of the things of Christ, yea, to take Christ 
himself, and show him to us. — The Golden Rule. 



209 



JULY IO. 



James A. P. McGaw. 



Where two or three are gathered together in 
my name, there am I in the midst of them. — 
Matt. 18 : 20. 

The Practice of the Presence of God in 



ESUS is in the midst of every assembly met 



to worship in his name, be it composed of 



J few or many. What added importance would 
be given to all our gatherings if we remembered 
this ! Should he appear bodily in any of our 
sanctuaries, how would our minds be affected 
by it ? Would we, like Peter, when the truth 
flashed upon him that Jesus was more than man, 
fall down before him and say, " Depart from 
me, for I am a sinful man " ? If we were fully 
under the power of the Spirit, the sudden ap- 
pearing of the Lord would fill us with joy. 

What a reality his visible presence would im- 
part to our songs and our prayers ! Could we 
see him as we sing "Rock of Ages," or " Jesus, 
Lover of My Soul," would we not sing with a 
fervor before unknown? Could we pray to him 
present before our eyes, as the Syro-Phcenician 
mother did, what a reality it would give to 
prayer ! We would confidently expect that our 
prayers for specific blessings would receive spe- 
cific answers, and not engage in prayer as a 
pious exercise of the soul, supposed to have 
a good effect on the person praying. 

" Jesus, we look to thee, 

Thy promised presence claim ; 
Thou in the midst of us shalt be 
Assembled in thy name." 



Public Worship. 




210 



John R. Mott. 



JULY ii. 



When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and 
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
which is in secret. — Matt. 6 : 6. 

Secret Prayer. 

TO become Christlike, which should be the 
ambition of every true Christian, we must 
" practise the presence of God." This is but 
another expression for secret prayer. To live 
the abiding life which Christ has commanded, 
the secret prayer life is implied. It is impos- 
sible to be consciously abiding in Christ without 
real and constant secret communion. In a word, 
secret prayer is prayer at its best. It is prayer 
most free from all insincerity. It is the true 
gauge of our prayer life, for it is the standard 
by which God judges it. . . . Christ has clearly 
taught that there is a place for prayer to which 
he attaches special importance. Where is that 
place ? It is the secret place. Landor says, 
" Solitude is the antechamber of God ; only one 
step more and you can be in his immediate 
presence." 

. . . Each person should have regular, stated 
seasons for private prayer. Daniel had three 
such seasons. One reference would lead us to 
infer that David had seven regular seasons each 
day. All might agree on the importance of a 
regular prayer season three times a day. Surely 
the most appropriate way to begin the day is 
with God ; it is the only fitting close of the day, 
and what is more helpful than to slow down the 
machinery at mid-day that we may hold close 
communion with him ? — Northfield Echoes. 



211 



JULY 12. 



Mrs. G. R. Alden (Pansy). 



Lord, teach us to pray. — Luke ii : i. 

Praying before Others. 

BY all means persevere in the duty of praying 
before others. No matter how you stumble, 
nor how many carefully thought - out sentences 
you forget. Stammering lips often carry a mes- 
sage straight to the throne of God, and it is to 
God we speak when we pray. 

Here are a few hints that I have found help- 
ful. 

1. Cultivate the habit of praying in an audible 
voice when alone in your room. Perhaps no one 
thing will give you self-control more speedily 
than this. We are creatures of habit, and when 
we have grown accustomed to the daily sound of 
our own voices when on our knees, habit, after a 
little, asserts itself when we kneel before others. 
Because of habit, the kneeling posture is, I think, 
the most helpful one to assume, even in public 
prayer, wherever it is feasible. Of course in 
large gatherings it generally is not. 

2. Grow very familiar with Bible prayers, those 
terse sentences pregnant with meaning, — " Cre- 
ate in me a clean heart, O God ; " " Keep the 
door of my lips ; " " In thee, O Lord, do I put 
my trust ; " " Continue thy loving-kindness unto 
them that love thee ; " " Send out thy light and 
truth." I should like to continue these quota- 
tions without number. The Bible is very rich 
as a prayer-book. If we linger among such 
petitions, habit will again come to our aid, and 
the Bible words will rush in upon us when we 
pray before others. — The Golden Rule. 

212 



J. Wilbur Chapman. 



JULY 13. 



Ask, and it shall be given you. — Matt. 7:7. 
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss. 
— Jas. 4 : 3. 

Asking and Receiving. 

C A OD never seems to say, " No," to Miiller. 
j Hudson Taylor seems ever to have the ear 
of the King. But to many, to receive an answer 
to prayer which is in any way remarkable is the 
exception and not the rule. Where, then, is the 
difficulty ? 

1. It may be that he has answered and said, 
" No " ; and that is just as much of an answer as 
" Yes," and not infrequently it is a better one. 
Elijah prayed under the juniper-tree that he 
might die. If God had answered that prayer 
as Elijah made it, . . . we would have lost the 
translation scene in the Old Testament. 

2. It may be that you are not seeking God's 
glory in your petition. . . . Sometimes we desire 
the conversion of our friends, when at the real 
root of the motive we find selfishness. It would 
merely be easier for you, more comfortable for 
you, if your friend were as you, in his way of 
thinking and living. This is wrong. God's 
glory must be first. 

3. It may be that you are not right before 
God, therefore your words have been powerless. 
Or you have something against your brother and 
have failed to make it right. The Word de- 
clares, " If thou rememberest that thy brother 
hath aught against thee," go and be reconciled, 
" and then come and offer thy gift." — The Golden 
Rule. 



213 



JULY 14. 



George Muller. 



Men ought always to pray, and not to faint. — 
Luke 18 : 1. 

Perseverance in Prayer. 

ALL the children of God, when once satisfied 
that anything which they bring before God 
in prayer is according to his will, ought to con- 
tinue in believing, expecting, persevering prayer 
until the blessing is granted. Thus I am now 
myself waiting upon God for certain blessings, 
for which I have daily besought him for ten 
years and six months. Still the full answer is 
not given concerning the conversion of certain 
individuals, though in the mean time I have re- 
ceived many thousands of answers to prayer, and 
also souls converted for whom I have been pray- 
ing. ... I lay particular stress on this for the 
benefit of those who suppose that I need only to 
ask God, and receive at once ; or that I may 
pray concerning anything and the answer would 
surely come. One can only expect to obtain 
answers to prayers that are according to the 
mind of God ; and even the faith and patience 
may be exercised for years ; and yet I am daily 
continuing in prayer, and so surely expecting the 
answer that I have often thanked God that he 
will surely give it, though now for nineteen 
years faith and patience have been thus ex- 
ercised. Be encouraged, dear Christians, with 
fresh earnestness to give yourselves to prayer, if 
you can only be sure that you ask for things that 
are for the glory of God. 



214 



Friedrich Wilhelm Krummacher. JULY 15. 



The manifestation of the Spirit is given to 
every man to profit withal. — 1 Cor. 12:7. 

The Holy Spirit for Service. 

BELIEVERS are all called, as endowed each 
severally according to the measure of the 
gift of the Holy Spirit, to co-operate in the perfect- 
ing of the kingdom of God. There is not one 
amongst them who is not authorized ... to win 
souls to the Lord by words mighty to convince, 
plain and simple though they be ; and to light the 
way to the divine havens of refuge, to those who 
have gone astray, and have wandered from the 
right path, by the quiet shining light of their own 
example. . . . We are all called thereto. The 
divine Comforter, with his wondrous unction, has 
long stood at the door of our hearts. O that 
we would but admit him, and grant him free and 
unbounded scope for his operations ! Our moral 
atmosphere would soon be filled with divine 
quickening and saving powers, and our whole 
appearance would breathe a something which 
would revive the withered, refresh the weary, 
and reanimate the sick. O, when will it pass 
that the prevailing want of spirituality shall cease 
from amongst us, when there shall be an effica- 
cious remedy for our drooping faith, and that the 
divine fiat shall resound to awaken the dead 
souls by whom we are encompassed. ... It 
would soon come to pass if our souls did but 
really thirst for it, and if the holy flame of prayer 
were never extinguished on the altar of our 
hearts. — " The Risen Redeemer." 

215 



JULY 16. 



Arthur T. Pierson. 



Know ye not that your body is the temple of 
the Holy Ghost ? — i Cor. 6:19. 

The Spirit's Proprietorship of Our Bodies. 

THE other day I heard Dr. W. G. Moorehead 
say that nowhere in the Bible is it taught 
that the Spirit of God, having taken possession 
of the body, ever leaves it; he suggested that 
even when the body is lowered into the grave 
the Spirit still possesses it, and that is the secret 
of its glorious destiny, when, leaving corruptible 
elements behind, it shall come forth a spiritual 
body, perfectly fitted for the Holy Spirit's resi- 
dence. He adds that, if any one disputes this 
theory, he will still maintain that the Spirit at 
least hovers over that grave, until the day when 
suddenly, at the voice of the archangel, he shall 
instantly bring that temple out of its apparent 
ruins in the beauty and glory of resurrection life 
and power. 

When the great Dr. John M. Mason buried his 
son from the hall of Lafayette College, and the 
young men went to carry the body out through 
the aisles of the church; he said, " Young men, 
walk softly ; you bear the temple of the Holy 
Ghost." My brother, the Holy Spirit having 
once left on your body the stamp of God's pro- 
prietorship and ownership, that body forevermore 
belongs to God. It is the temple of God that he 
is going to look after and bring forth in beauty 
when the refining process is complete, whereby 
all carnal elements are purged away. — Northfield 
Echoes. 



216 



Joseph Parker. 



JULY 17. 



Trust in him at all times ; ye people, pour out 
your heart before him : God is a refuge for us. — 



J.VX now a t a stubborn gate ; it will not open, 
the key is lost, it would be wrong to climb over 
it ; help us on this side of the perplexing gate to 
fall down and pray ; then when we arise the gate 
will be wide open. 

Lead us through all the changes of life, all its 
scenery and business and family relationships, 
and show us that all these things are in God's 
hand, and not in ours. 

Be with our dear ones on the sea, with our 
loved ones away in foreign lands and in strange 
places. Thou canst make it home wherever they 
are ; thou canst so fill them with hope and light 
and sweet expectancy that they shall forget all 
time and distance and separation and accident, 
and unite in holy sympathy with us at this mo- 
ment. 

We pray for those who are farther off still, — 
prodigals who dare not pray ; they may not, they 
think, lift their debauched lips towards heaven ; 
they have worn us out, and made all life within 
their reach a shadow and a pain. Yet the prodi- 
gals are still thine ; they have taken a long way 
around, but even yet thou wilt bring them all 
home. 

We bless thee for our dead who have died in 
the Lord ; the fight is over, the crown is won, the 
haven is entered. . . . Bind us to thy cross, thou 
Saviour of men. Amen. — The Golden Rule. 



Ps. 62 : 8. 



A Prayer. 




Many are 



217 



JULY 1 8. 



John Hall. 



O Lord, truly I am thy servant. — Ps. 1 16 : 16. 



Servants of God. 

THE Christian is a servant of God. The 
word is often found in the Scriptures. It 
is employed by God to describe men, and it is 
used by men to describe themselves as to the 
Deity, in their praises and their prayers. There 
is nothing humiliating in it. It is an honor to be 
a servant to the state, a public servant. It is a 
higher honor to be a servant to the Creator of the 
universe. The name is given to the Son of God 
as our Saviour. By the knowledge of him " shall 
my righteous servant justify many," says Jehovah 
by his prophet Isaiah (53 : 11). 

Now a true servant takes pains to know his 
master's will. Do you, dear reader, follow this 
course ? Do you search the Scriptures, study 
God's providences, ask him daily in your closet 
to show you what he would have you to do ? Do 
you expect the real reward from him ? Or are 
you looking for it in the favor or the applause 
of your fellow creatures ? 

Letters are often closed with the superscription, 
"Your obedient servant," where there is no in- 
tention of serving. The phrase is formal, con- 
ventional. Can you look up to God in sincerity 
and say, as in the eighty-sixth Psalm, " Give thy 
strength unto thy servant " ? — The Golden Rule. 



218 



C. T. Studd. 



JULY 19. 



And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world 
and preach the gospel to every creature. — Mark 
16:15. 

God's Call. 

THERE is no division between home mis- 
sions and foreign missions. If we want to 
save America, it can only be done on the lines 
of saving the world. In the same way the Lord 
Jesus Christ, when he wanted to feed those twelve 
hungry disciples, took what there was to eat, and 
gave it to the five thousand. He did not give it 
to the twelve, but distributed it to the five thou- 
sand, and there was lots to spare for the twelve — 
more than they could eat. . . . We know the 
needs. And now the question is, What are we 
going to do ? If we refuse to supply their need, 
then right down from God's throne will come the 
message to us, that we are hypocrites. ... In 
Jesus Christ's war against sin and the devil, how 
much do we give him ? How unpatriotic we are 
concerning the kingdom of God, when we look at 
these things in a practical way ! . . . O, how I 
covet you for the army of Jesus Christ ! You 
might set this world ablaze ! God is willing to 
do it with you. The question is, Are you will- 
ing ? God has given us his gospel. He has 
given us this world as our promised land. He 
has told us to go and be his witnesses to the 
uttermost parts of the earth. You can do it. 
God expects you to do it. The only question is, 
" Will you do it ? " — Northfield Echoes. 



219 



JULY 20. 



Lady Henry Somerset. 



Even as the Son of man came not to be min- 
istered unto, but to minister, and to give his life 
a ransom for many. — Matt. 20 : 28. 

Selfish Religion. 

I REMEMBER passing down one of our great 
highways in London, where saloon after 
saloon confronted me, and as I saw them filled not 
with the young men of our land, but with the young 
women also ; as I saw mothers standing there with 
their babies in their arms, ... a friend who 
walked with me said, " Does it come home to you 
sometimes that on us rests the burden of all that 
sin ? " . . Does it come home to us, when we, so 
sheltered and glad, hear the pattering of the out- 
cast feet beyond ? Does it come home to us that 
every saloon to-night that drags young lives down 
to shame and misery is an added burden to our 
load? O, if not, of what use is our boasted 
Christianity ? We want no velvet-lined pew re- 
ligion. We want that Christianity that treads 
the streets, that hand that lifts the fallen, that 
heart that beats with the great heart of humanity ; 
and this alone is Christ's Christianity. 

. . . " Clothe me, and keep me, and guard me, 
and guide me, and take me to heaven when I die ! " 
Is n't that the prayer of thousands of men and 
women who call themselves Christians ? . . . 
There are thousands who spend their time on the 
mountain-top, singing beautiful songs about the 
glory of the coming by and by, pleasing them- 
selves with the vision of the glory that is to be, 
thanking God that they are different from the 
great mass of humanity. — Leaflet, " Thy King- 
dom Come." 



220 



J. R. MacDuff. 



JULY 21. 



I have compassion on the multitude. — Mark 
8 : 2. 

Christ Our Pattern in His Compassion. 

DO the compassionate words and deeds of a 
tender Saviour find any feeble echo and 
transcript in yours ? As you traverse in thought 
the waste of human wretchedness, does the spec- 
tacle give rise, not to the mere emotional feeling 
that weeps itself away in sentimental tears, but 
to an earnest desire to do something to mitigate 
the sufferings of woe-worn humanity ? How vast 
and world-wide the claims on your compassion ! 
— now near, now a distance — the unmet and 
unanswered cry of perishing millions abroad — 
the heathendom which lies unsuccored at your 
own door — the public charity languishing — the 
mission staff dwarfed and crippled from lack of 
needful funds — a suffering district — a starving 
family — a poor neighbor — a helpless orphan — 
it may be some crowded hovel, where misery and 
vice run riot — or some lonely sick-chamber, 
where the dim lamp has been wasting for 
dreary nights — or some desolate home which 
death hath entered, where " Joseph is not, and 
Simeon is not," and where some sobbing heart, 
under the tattered garb of poverty, mourns, un- 
solaced and unpitied, its "loved and lost." 
Are there none such within your reach ? The 
poor are the representatives of Jesus, and their 
wants he considers as his own. — " The Mind 
and Words of Jesus." 



221 



JULY 22. 



H. Clay Trumbull. 



Herein is love, not that we loved God, but 
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the pro- 
pitiation for our sins. — I John 4:10. 

Love Grows through Serving. 

S a rule, love is not an outgrowth of grati- 



beginning or its larger progress in a recognition 
of benefits received; but rather it is a result — 
all unthought of, it may be — of service rendered, 
of sacrifice made, or of suffering endured. . . . 
Parental love is stronger and more enduring 
than filial love ; for not every child has done and 
endured for his parents, while every parent has 
made some surrender of self for his child. . . . 
And as it is in human love, so it is in divine. 
No child of God can so love God as God loves 
his child. Nor would it be possible for us so to 
love God as he loves us, unless it were possible 
that we had done as much for God as God has 
done for us ; for love comes and grows through 
serving, not through being served. . . . The 
more we can do for a friend, and the more we 
can surrender to a friend, the more we shall 
love a friend ; . . . one who is loved and served 
by another can both show love and gain in love 
by consenting to be loved and served by that lov- 
ing one. 

" I hold him great who, for love's sake, 
Can give, with generous, earnest will ; 
Yet he who takes, for love's sweet sake, 
I think I hold more generous still." 




commonly have its 



— The Sunday School Times. 



222 



Horace Bushnell. 



JULY 23. 



Then went in also that other disciple. — John 
20 : 8. 

Unconscious Influence. 

LITTLE does Peter think, as he comes up 
where his doubting brother is looking into 
the sepulchre, and goes straight in, after his pe- 
culiar manner, that he is drawing in his brother 
apostle after him. As little does John think, 
when he loses his misgivings, and goes into the 
sepulchre after Peter, that he is following his 
brother. And just so, unawares to himself, is 
every man, the whole race through, laying hold 
of his fellow man, to lead him where otherwise he 
would not go. We overrun the boundaries of 
our personality, — we flow together. A Peter 
leads a John, a John goes after a Peter, both of 
them unconscious of any influence exerted or 
received. . . . The influences we exert uncon- 
sciously will almost never disagree with our real 
characters. They are honest influences, follow- 
ing our characters as a shadow follows the sun. 
They go streaming from us in all directions, though 
in channels that we do not see, poisoning or heal- 
ing, around the roots of society, and among the 
hidden wells of character. If good ourselves, 
they are good ; if bad, they are bad. And since 
they reflect so exactly our character, it is impos- 
sible to doubt our responsibility for their effects 
on the world. — " Sermons for the New Life." 

" This learned I from the shadow of a tree, 
That to and fro did sway upon a wall : 
Our shadow selves, our influence may fall 
Where we may never be." 

223 



JULY 24. 



Phillips Brooks. 



For none of us liveth to himseff. — Rom. 14:7. 
Undying Deeds. 

OTHIS marvellous, this awful power that 
we have over other people's lives ! O, 
the power of that sin that you have done years 
and years ago ! It is awful to think of it. I 
think there is hardly anything more terrible to 
the human thought than this, — the picture of a 
man who, having sinned years and years ago, in 
a way that involved others' souls in his sin, and 
then, having repented of his sin and undertaken 
another life, knows certainly that the power, the 
consequences, of that sin, is going on outside of 
his reach, beyond even his ken and his knowl- 
edge. . . . 

Thank God the other thing is true as well. 
Thank God that when a man does a bit of ser- 
vice, however little it may be, of that, too, he can 
never trace the consequences. Thank God that 
in some better moment, in some nobler inspira- 
tion, you did ten years ago something to make 
your brother's faith a little stronger, ... to es- 
tablish the purity of a soul instead of staining it 
and shaking it. Thank God, in this quick, elec- 
tric atmosphere in which we live, that, too, runs 
forth. Do not say in your terror, " I will do 
nothing." You must do something. Only let 
Christ tell you that there is nothing that a man 
thinks of, as he looks back upon it as it has sunk 
into the past, with any satisfaction, except some 
service to his fellow man, some strengthening and 
helping of a human soul. — " Beauty of a 
Life of Service." 



224 



Norman Macleod. 



JULY 25. 



And I saw the dead, small and great, stand 
before God ; and the books were opened : and 
another book was opened, which is the book of 
life. — Rev. 20 : 12. 

The Book of Life. 

IN the book of life are inscribed the charac- 
ters of all God's people. . . . Their words, 
which are the evidence, results, and rewards of 
faith, are recorded by that same Spirit through 
whose power alone the soul has lived, believed, 
and been able to bring forth fruit to the praise 
of the glory of God by Jesus Christ. In the 
book of life will be found recorded by the om- 
niscient Holy Spirit of truth, that secret life of 
every saint which was "hid with Christ in God." 
Then shall be revealed the reality of their re- 
pentance and inward renewal of the soul ; the 
sincerity of their love to God and to his people ; 
their secret prayers, thanksgivings, confessions, 
intercessions, and holy communion with God ; 
their plans, longings, and sacrifices for the spread 
of the gospel, and for the glory of God upon 
earth ; their deeds of charity for Christ — every 
prison they entered, every naked one they clothed, 
the hungry they fed, the offences forgiven by 
them from love to him who forgave them ; that 
whole character, in short, which is the result of 
union with Christ, will be evidenced to the uni- 
verse from what is recorded of it in the Lamb's 
book of life. — " Parish Papers." 



225 



JULY 26. 



Frances E. Willard. 



Blessed is the man that walketh not in the 
counsel of the ungodly. — Ps. 1:1. 

The Law of Habit. 

I HAVE seen the law of habit slowly, gently, 
imperceptibly wrap men round and round in 
its close winding-sheet, as if they were Egyptian 
mummies. So quietly was all this done that they 
never knew their bondage until they made the 
first faint movement towards a better life. . . . 
The thoughtless boy, cigar in mouth, playing 
cards "just for fun," and a little later with a 
glass of beer as the stake, hiding all these things 
from his mother ; the idle, spendthrift youth, with 
fondness only for vile company ; the besotted 
man, sold under sin, accursed of God, and his 
own conscience, and his fellow men — these, 
these are piteous object-lessons that have taught 
me the supreme power of habit over human 
destiny. 

But I saw that the tendency to repeat the same 
act, and the greater ease with which this is done 
the second time than the first, and the third time 
than the second, is the key to paradise as well 
as pandemonium. I saw the slow, unerring, un- 
failing plan of God, by which our habits may 
become our stepladder to saintship. And I said 
to my own heart in the presence of many a 
bloated inebriate, what I now whisper to you : 
u JVo evil habit, however small, shall have dominion 
over me." — " How to Win." 

226 



Hannah Whitall Smith. 



JULY 27. 



Blessed is the man that endureth temptation. 
■ — Jas. I : 12. 

Temptation. 

TEMPTATION is not sin, yet much distress 
arises from not understanding this fact. The 
very suggestion of wrong seems to bring pollution 
with it ; the poor tempted soul feels as if it must 
be very bad indeed, and very far off from God 
to have had such thoughts and suggestions. It 
is as though a burglar should break into a man's 
house to steal, and when the master of the house 
turns round to resist him and drive him out, 
should turn round and accuse the owner of him- 
self being the thief. It is the enemy's grand ruse 
for entrapping us. He comes and whispers sug- 
gestions of evil to us, — doubts, blasphemies, jeal- 
ousies, envyings, and pride, — and then turns 
round and says, " O, how wicked you must be 
to think such things ! " . . . The truth is, it is 
no more a sin to hear these whispers and sugges- 
tions of evil in our souls than it is for us to hear 
the wicked talk of bad men as we walk along 
the street. The sin comes, in either case, only 
by our stopping and joining in with them. . . . 
When temptation is recognized as temptation, 
we shall be able to say at once, " Get thee be- 
hind me;" and shall walk even through the 
midst of the fiercest assaults with unclouded and 
triumphant peace ; knowing that, " when the 
enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of 
the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." — 
" Christian's Secret of a Happy Life." 



227 



JULY 28. Frederick William Robertson. 



The tongue ... is an unruly evil, full of deadly 
poison. — Jas. 3 : 8. 

Slander. 

THERE are poisons so destructive that a 
single drop insinuated into the veins pro- 
duces death in three seconds, and yet no chemi- 
cal science can separate the virus from the 
contaminated blood, and show the metallic par- 
ticles of poison glittering palpably, and say, " Be- 
hold, it is there ! " 

In Saint James's day, as now, it would appear 
that there were idle men and women, who went 
about from house to house, dropping slander as 
they went, and yet you could not take up that 
slander and detect the falsehood. You could not 
evaporate the truth in the slow process of the cru- 
cible, and show the residuum of falsehood glitter- 
ing and visible. You could not fasten upon any 
word and say that it was calumny ; for, in order 
to constitute slander, it is not necessary that the 
word spoken should be false — half-truths are 
often more calumnious than whole falsehoods. 
It is not even necessary that a word should be 
distinctly uttered ; a dropped lip, an arched eye- 
brow, a shrugged shoulder, a significant look, an 
incredulous expression of countenance, nay, even 
an emphatic silence, may do the work ; and when 
the light and trifling thing which has done the 
mischief has fluttered off, the venom is left be- 
hind, to work and rankle, to inflame hearts, to 
fever human existence, and to poison human soci- 
ety at the very fountain-springs of life. — " Ser- 
mons Preached at Trinity Chapel, Brighton, 
Vol. 3." 

228 



Washington Gladden. 



JULY 29. 



Thou shalt not steal. — Exod. 20 : 15. 

Cheating Is Stealing. 

TAKE as your standard of commercial recti- 
tude, not the shifting scale of popular 
usage, but the perfect law of God. Keep this 
truth firmly fixed upon your minds, and never 
lose sight of it in any of your business transac- 
tions, — that cheating is stealing ; that, with what- 
ever glosses or euphemisms men may cover up 
its deformity, at the bottom it is nothing but 
a violation of the eighth commandment. Don't 
be guilty of it, then, young folks ! Don't lie ! 
Don't steal ! Starve first ! You can't die in a 
better cause. Don't do it for yourselves ; don't 
do it for others. If an employer requires it of 
you, shake off the dust of your feet as a testi- 
mony against him, and leave him forthwith. The 
Lord will provide. 

Remember that all the actions of our lives 
must be traversed by and by before the bar of 
God. He cannot be cheated. Before that au- 
gust tribunal the truth must all be told. 

" There is no shuffling ; there the action lies 
In his true nature ; and we ourselves compelled 
Even to the very teeth and forehead of our faults 
To give in evidence." 

Keep that day in mind, and, though your reve- 
nues of earthly gain be small, live so that you 
can answer its dread questionings without dismay. 
— " Plain Thoughts in the Art of Living." 



229 



JULY 30. 



Margaret Bottome. 



Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. — John 
2:5. 

Duty Begins at Home. 

IT is easier to be good in church and in doing 
church-work than it is to be good at home 
and do the work there. To wear the cross of 
the King's Daughters means to do the work next 
to you. It is much easier for our girls to dress 
up and go out to engage in some charitable work 
than it is to help their mothers to keep the house 
in proper order, and relieve their tired hearts 
and maybe their tired feet. All over this land 
the need is for daughters to be charitable to 
their mothers and bear the burdens their moth- 
ers will have to bear unless they take them. . . . 
No amount of outside work can compensate for 
the neglect of work that the mothers must do, 
if the daughters do not share the home burdens 
with her. The priceless wealth of character is 
made by willingness to wash and sweep rooms, 
which the mother must do if her daughters do 
not. — The Ladies* Home Journal. 

THE MORNING PRAYER OF THE ORDER OF KING'S 
DAUGHTERS. 

Take me, Lord, and use me to-day as thou 
wilt. Whatever work thou hast for me to do, 
give it into my hands. If there are those thou 
wouldst have me to help in any way, send them 
to me. Take my time and use it as thou wilt. 
Let me be a vessel close to thy hand, and meet 
for thy service, to be employed only for thee and 
for ministry to others in thy name. Amen. 

230 



Andrew Bonar. 



JULY 31. 



This same Jesus, which is taken up from you 
into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye 
have seen him go into heaven. — Acts i : 11. 

When Jesus Comes. 

WHEN those that upheld the banner of 
truth had almost lost heart, John Knox 
left Geneva for Scotland. When he landed, 
quick as lightning the news spread abroad. 
The cry arose everywhere, "John Knox is 
come ! " Edinburgh came rushing into the 
streets ; the old and young, the lordly and the 
low, were seen mingling together in delighted 
expectation. All business, all common pursuits, 
were forsaken. The priests and friars aban- 
doned their altars and their masses, and looked 
alarmed, or were seen standing by themselves, 
shunned like lepers. . . . Travellers suddenly 
mounted and sped into the country with the 
tidings. . . . Barques departing from the harbor 
bore up to each other at sea to tell the news. 
Shepherds heard the tidings as they watched 
their flocks. . . . The whole land was moved ; 
the whole country was stirred with a new in- 
spiration, and the hearts of enemies withered. 
O, if that was the effect of the sudden presence 
of a man like ourselves, — a man whom we will 
rejoice to meet in the Kingdom, but only a man, 
— what will the land feel, what will the earth 
feel, when the news comes, The Son of man! 
The Son of mail ! His sign has been seen in 
the heaven ! O wise virgins, with what joy will 
you go out to meet him ! 

2 3 [ . 



AUGUST 

WITH 

J. R. MILLER. 




REV. J. R. MILLER. 

August. 



Miller. 



AUGUST I. 



When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and 
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
which is in secret. — Matt. 6 : 6. 

The Shut Door. 

THIS is one of our Lord's plainest and most 
significant instructions about prayer. He 
is speaking about personal prayer, when the 
child of God wants to talk to his Father of his 
own affairs and lay at his feet his own individ- 
ual burdens. We should seek to be alone in all 
such praying. Other presences about us disturb 
our thoughts and restrict our freedom. So we 
are to go into our closet and shut the door. 

The shutting of the door is significant. It 
shuts the world out. It secures us against in- 
terruption. It ought to shut out worldly thoughts 
and cares and distractions. Wandering in prayer 
is usually one of our sorest troubles. Then it 
shuts us in, and this also is important and sig- 
nificant. It shuts us in alone with God. No 
eye but his sees us as we bow in secrecy. No 
ear but his hears us as we pour out our heart's 
feelings and desires. Thus we are helped to 
realize that with God alone have we to do, that 
he alone can help us. As we are shut up alone 
with God, so also are we shut up to God. There 
is precious comfort in the assurance that when 
we thus pray we are not talking to the air. 
There is an ear to hear, and it is the ear of our 
Father. — " Come Ye Apart." 



235 



AUGUST 2. 



Miller. 



In the morning, rising up a great while before 
day, he went out, and departed into a solitary 
place, and there prayed. — Mark 1:35. 

Jesus Our Example in Private Prayer. 

JESUS would always find time for prayer, or 
make time for it. If his days were full of 
excitement and toil, he would take time out 
of his nights for communing with God. He 
never allowed himself to be robbed of his hours 
of devotion. There are some Christians who 
think they are excused from prayer and medi- 
tation in secret because they are so busy. Their 
work presses them so in the morning that they 
cannot possibly get time to pray. Their cares 
occupy them so all day that they do not find one 
quiet moment to go apart with God. In the 
evening there are so many social or other en- 
gagements, — meetings, societies, parties, — or 
they are so tired that prayer is crowded out. 
The example of Christ speaks its solemn rebuke 
of all such trifling. We must find time for com- 
munion with God, or God will not find time to 
bless us. 

There are some people who claim they can 
commune with God just as well in one place as 
in another. They do their praying while they 
walk about and while they work. They see no 
use in going apart to pray. Surely if any one 
could pray well in a crowd or while engaged in 
work, Jesus could. No doubt he did hold com- 
munion with his Father even in his busiest 
hours, but this did not meet all the needs and 
longings of his soul. — "Come Ye Apart." 

236 



Miller. 



AUGUST 3. 



Come ye yourselves apart. — Mark 6 : 31. 

Taking the Bible into the Closet. 

LIFE is hard to most of us ; at least, it is hard 
to live nobly, grandly, purely, Christianly. 
We do so only by getting a great deal of help 
from Christ. We need, therefore, daily to heed 
his invitation, " Come ye apart." In communion 
with him we shall receive strength and blessing 
to enable us to fulfil our mission of obedience 
and ministry in his name. We shall rob our- 
selves, therefore, of divine anointing and divine 
help if we do not make room in our busiest days 
for quiet retreats from noise and strife — apart 
with Christ, where we may sit at his feet to hear 
his words, or lie on his bosom to absorb his 
spirit, for the refreshing and transforming of our 
own lives. . . . We are urged to both open and 
close the day at God's feet. We are taught that 
prayer is the Christian's vital breath. And not 
a word too much can be said on this subject. If 
we would live strong, noble, beautiful, radiant, and 
useful Christian lives, we must get seasons of 
secret prayer into our busy days. But we must 
take our Bible with us into the closet. While we 
talk to God we must also let God talk to us. 
God feeds us through his word. It is into all 
truth the Holy Spirit leads Christ's disciples. 
Seasons of prayer without meditation on some 
word of God cannot yield the full blessing that 
we need. — Preface to " Come Ye Apart." 



237 



AUGUST 4. 



Miller. 



Search the Scriptures. — John 5 : 39. 

Reading the Bible into Our Lives. 

IN the minds of many Protestants there is 
almost as much superstition regarding the 
sacred Book as there is among the Romanists 
regarding the crucifix or rosary. Soldiers enter- 
ing a battle fling away their cards and put Bibles 
in their pockets. They feel that they are safer 
then. Many think if they read a certain por- 
tion every day, though they give no thought to 
the meaning, that they have done a holy service 
and are safe for the day. But the mere reading 
of so many chapters does no one any good. It 
would be as well to say Latin prayers and fumble 
over a string of beads for ten minutes. To re- 
ceive a blessing from the Bible, it must be read 
thoughtfully, with inquiry and meditation. It 
must be allowed to read itself into our heart and 
life. . . . There is a great deal of hurried, super- 
ficial reading which skims over the surface, which 
pauses to weigh no word, take in no thought, 
apply no lesson, and which leaves no impression, 
not even a memory, behind. Such readers must 
use a marker, or they will read the same chapter 
over and over without knowing it. 

It is necessary to read the Bible, not alone to 
know the will of God, but that we may do it. If 
it is not the guide of our life, it is nothing to 
us. Its truths must be applied. — " Week-day 
Religion." 



2 3 8 



Miller. 



AUGUST 5. 



Give us this day our daily bread. — Matt. 6 :11. 

The Day's Portion for the Day. 

THIS seems a very small thing to ask, — 
only bread for a day. Why are we not 
taught to pray for bread enough to last a week, 
or a month, or a year ? For one thing, Jesus 
wanted to teach us a lesson of continual depend- 
ence. He taught us to come each morning with 
a request simply for the day's food, that we might 
never feel that we can get along without our 
Father. Another lesson he wanted to teach us 
was that the true way to live is by the day. We 
are not to be anxious even about the supply of 
to-morrow's needs. When to-morrow comes it 
will be right for us to take up its cares. The 
same great lesson was taught in the way the 
manna was given, — just a day's portion at a 
time. 

" Make a little fence of trust 

Around to-day; 
Fill the space with loving work, 

And therein stay, 
Look not through the sheltering bars 

Upon to-morrow ; 
God will help thee bear what comes 

Of joy or sorrow." 

We should not overlook the word " us? It 
is plural, and bids us remember God's other 
children. This should be a prayer for daily 
bread for our hungry neighbor also. — " Come 
Ye Apart." 



239 



AUGUST 6. 



Miller. 



Give ye them to eat. — Matt. 14: 16. 

Feeding the Perishing World. 

THE perishing world can get the blessings 
of the gospel of Christ only through us. 
Here stands the Master with the consecrated 
bread in his hands, enough for all. Yonder is 
the multitude, with countless needs and hunger. 
" He gave the loaves to the disciples." Suppose 
they had eaten of the bread themselves, and when 
satisfied, had still remained sitting there, enjoy- 
ing their blessing, but carrying it no farther ; 
what would have been the result ? The people 
would have gone hungry, although there had 
been ample provision made by the Master. 

We are now Christ's disciples. All about us 
are hungry people. Christ has bread to give 
them — enough to satisfy all their hunger. But 
it must pass to them through our hands. What 
if the bread stops with us ? What if we take it, — 
this sacred bread, Christ's own body broken for 
us, — and sit down and think not of those beyond 
us who are hungering for comfort, for help, for 
love, for life ? This bread is not given to us for 
ourselves alone, — Christ gives no blessing in 
that way; it is given for ourselves, and then 
to be passed on by us to others. Says Amiel, 
" It is better to be lost than to be saved alone." 
Let us be faithful. It would be a bitter thing, 
indeed, if any should perish because we did not 
carry to them the bread which the Master gave 
us for them. — " The Building of Character." 



240 



Miller. 



AUGUST 7. 



I, even I only. — 1 Kings 19 : 14. 

Standing up for Jesus. 

LIJAH, at a certain great crisis, thought he 



j~j was the only one left to stand for God. 
There were others, but he did not know of them. 
He was, indeed, the only one in the field for 
God. He stood alone, one man against king, 
and false priests, and people. There come times 
in the lives of all who are Christians when they 
must stand alone for God. . . . This aloneness 
puts upon one a great responsibility. Perhaps 
you are the only Christian in your house, — the 
only witness Christ has in your house, the only 
one through whom to reveal his love, his grace, 
his holiness. You are the only one to represent 
Christ in your family, to show them the beauty 
of Christ, the sweetness and gentleness of Christ, 
to do there the works of Christ, the things he 
would do if he lived in your house. Perhaps the 
salvation of all the souls in your family depends 
upon your being true and faithful in your own 
place. 

Perhaps you are the only Christian in the 
workshop or school, the store or the office, where 
you are employed. A peculiar responsibility 
rests on you. You are Christ's only witness in 
your place. If you do not testify for him there, 
no other will do it. " I am the only one he has 
here " — let this become a source of great 
strength and inspiration to you. — llie West- 
minster J'eacher. 




241 



AUGUST 8. 



Miller. 



They glorified God in me. — Gal. i : 24. 

Reflecting Jesus. 

IN the Palazzo Rospiglioso in Rome is the 
great picture of Aurora. It is on the ceiling, 
and can be studied only with much difficulty 
from the floor. But a mirror is so placed on a 
table that it reflects the picture, and one can 
study it there with ease and pleasure. God is a 
spirit ; and he is in heaven, " dwelling in light 
unapproachable." The incarnation was the 
bringing of the reflection of the glorious person 
of God down to earth in a human life. Men 
looked at Jesus and saw in him the very image 
of God. Jesus is no longer here in the flesh to 
reveal the unseen God ; but we are here for him, 
and it is ours, if we are truly Christians, to be 
mirrors, reflecting in our own character the 
beauty of the Lord, and thus glorifying him. 

A little child one day asked her mother, after 
reading in the New Testament, "Is Jesus like 
anybody we know ? " The mother ought to have 
been able to answer, " Yes, I am trying to be 
like Jesus ; if you will look at my life and study 
my character, you will see a little of wTiat Jesus 
was like." Every follower of Christ should be 
able to say the same to all who know him. The 
likeness is imperfect, for in many things we come 
short ; but, if we are truly Christians, we must be 
trying to live as he would if he were in our 
place. Unless we live thus, God is not glorified 
in us. — The Golden Rule. 



242 



Miller. 



AUGUST 9. 



Glorify God. — 1 Cor. 6 : 20. 

How Can We Glorify God? 

HOW can we add to God's glory ? We can- 
not add a single beam to the splendor of 
the noonday sun ; we cannot make the evening 
star more brilliant ; and God's name is infinitely 
beyond our poor glorifying. Yet we may glorify 
God among men. You travel abroad and meet 
in a foreign land a man who is noble, gifted, and 
worthy. Here at home he is scarcely known at 
all. On your return you begin at once to speak 
of this man to your friends, telling them of his 
life, his work, his charming personality. You 
pass among your friends the books he has writ- 
ten, containing his helpful, inspiring words. His 
name is no longer unknown in your community. 
His influence begins to be felt in many lives. 
His books are read, and do good. You have 
glorified him. 

In the same way we make God glorious. We 
know his name, his character, his works, and we 
have his Word, full of divine revealings. We 
can speak of the mercy, love, and goodness of 
God. We can tell what we know of him, what 
he has been to us and has done for us. We can 
show others the words he has spoken, full of 
comfort, inspiration, and cheer. Where God was 
scarcely known before, he becomes well known, 
and many begin to love and trust him. We 
have glorified God. — The Golden Rule. 



243 



AUGUST IO. 



Miller. 



O God, thou art my God ; early will I seek 
thee ; my soul thirsteth for thee. — Ps. 63 : i. 

General Gordon's Horning Watch. 

"^VERY morning, during his journey in the 



I v Soudan, there lay outside General Gordon's 
tent a handkerchief, and the whole camp knew 
the meaning of that small token, and most relig- 
iously was it respected by all, whatever their 
creed, color, or business. No foot dared to enter 
the tent while this handkerchief lay there. No 
force of sentinels could have better guarded the 
tent door. No message, however pressing, was 
ever sent in. Every one knew that God and 
General Gordon were alone there together; that 
the servant prayed and communed, and that the 
Master heard and answered. Into the heart so 
opened, the presence and the life of God came 
down. Into the life so laid upon the altar, the 
strength of God was poured. No wonder that 
when the man came out of his tent the glory of 
God seemed to shine in his face and the fragrance 
of heaven to cling to his very garments, and that 
he had such sublime peace, and such calm, ma- 
jestic power. 

We all need to get more of such half-hours 
into our lives, when God's very angels will pause 
in reverent silence at our doors, while within we 
commune with the blessed Trinity. Then we 
shall be strong for service, and our influence 
shall be hallowed by the very touch of Christ. 
— " Glimpses from Life's Windows." 




244 



Miller. 



AUGUST II. 



Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my 
lord the king shall appoint. — 2 Sam. 15 : 15. 

Christ's Appointments. 

CONSECRATION is devotion to the will of 
Christ. There are many people who are 
quite ready to do certain things in the service of 
Christ, who are not ready to do anything he might 
want them to do. Many of us have our little pet 
projects in Christian work, our pleasant pastimes 
of service for our Master, things we like to do. 
Into these we enter with enthusiasm. They are 
to our mind. We suppose we are thoroughly 
consecrated to Christ's work, because we are so 
willing to do these things. Possibly we are, but 
there is a surer test. It is not whether we are 
ready to do the things for Christ which we like 
to do, but whether we are ready to do, just as 
heartily, anything he may give us to do. It may 
not be any form of activity ; sometimes it is quiet 
waiting. It is not bringing a great many souls 
to Christ, visiting a great many sick or suffering 
ones, attending a great many meetings, talking a 
great deal. Some weary one, shut away in the 
darkness, in the chamber of pain, may be illus- 
trating true consecration far more beautifully 
than those whose hands are fullest of Christian 
activities in the bustling world. . . . We shall 
not need to wait long to find our work. When 
the continual prayer is, * ' Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do ? " the answer will soon be given 
in each case. — " The Every-day of Life." 



2 45 



AUGUST 12. 



Miller. 



Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. — John 
2:5. 

" Doe Ye Nexte Thynge." 

DUTY is never a haphazard thing; it does 
not come to us in bundles, from which we 
may choose what we like best. There are never 
a half-dozen things, either one of which we may 
fitly do at any particular time ; there is some one 
definite, particular thing, in the divine purpose, 
for each moment. . . . But how to know what is 
the duty of each moment is a question, which is, 
to many, full of perplexity. Yet it would be easy 
if our obedience were but more simple. We have 
but to take the duty that comes next to our hand 
— that which the moment brings. " Doe ye 
nexte thynge," says the quaint old Saxon legend. 
. . . People try to reach decisions to-day in mat- 
ters that really will not be before them for months, 
possibly for years. A young man came to me in 
sore perplexity. He could not decide whether 
to go as a foreign missionary. Yet he had just 
closed his freshman year in college. It would 
be six years before he could go. . . . If not even 
one little step is plain, " ye nexte thynge " is to 
wait. 



"Fear not to-morrows, 
Child of the King ; 

Trust them with Jesus : 
4 Doe ye nexte thynge.' 

Do it immediately, 
Do it with prayer, 



Do it reliantly, 

Casting off care ; 
Do it with reverence, 

Tracing His hand 
Who hath placed it before 

thee 

With earnest command." 
" Practical Religion." 



246 



Miller. 



AUGUST 13. 



Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light 
unto my path. — Ps. 119 : 105. 



HE law of divine guidance is, " Step by 



country road at night sees only one step before 
him. If he takes that, he carries his lantern for- 
ward, and then makes another step plain. At 
length he reaches his destination in safety, with- 
out once stepping into darkness. The whole way 
has been made light for him, though only a single 
step of it at a time. This illustrates the usual 
method of God's guidance. His word is repre- 
sented as a lamp unto the feet. It is a lamp, — 
not a blazing sun, nor even a lighthouse, but a 
plain, common lamp, or lantern, which one can 
carry about in the hand. It is a lamp " unto the 
feet," not throwing its beams afar, not illuminat- 
ing a hemisphere, but shining only on the one 
little bit of road on which the pilgrim's feet are 
walking. . . . Miners carry their small lamps 
fastened to their caps. These lamps do not flood 
the whole great dark chamber of the mine where 
the men work, but they do light the one little spot 
where the miner has to strike his pick. Duty is 
a lamp, and as we move forward in quiet obedience 
we carry our own light with us, and thus never 
have to work in the darkness, though it may be 
dense night close on all sides of us. — " Practical 
Religion." 



The Divine Lamp. 




One who carries a lantern on a 



247 



AUGUST 14. 



Miller. 



Be silent . . . before the Lord. — Zech. 2 : 13. 

Wellesley's Silent Times. 

IN Wellesley College a special feature of the 
daily life of the household is the morning and 
evening " silent times." Both at the opening and 
closing of the day there is a brief period, marked 
by the strokes of a bell, in which all the house is 
quiet. Every pupil is in her room. There is no 
conversation. No step is heard in the corridors. 
The whole great house with its thronging life is 
as quiet as if all of its hundreds of inmates were 
sleeping. There is no positively prescribed way 
of spending the silent minutes in the rooms, but 
it is understood that all whose hearts so incline 
them shall devote the time to devotional reading, 
meditation, and prayer. The design of establish- 
ing this period of quiet as part of the daily life 
of the school, is to give opportunity for devotional 
exercises, and by its solemn hush to suggest to 
all the fitness and the need of such periods of 
communion with God. Every true Christian life 
needs its "silent times," when all shall be still, 
when the busy activities of other hours shall cease, 
and when the heart, in holy hush, shall commune 
with God. One of the greatest needs in Christian 
life in these days is more devotion. Ours is not 
an age of prayer so much as an age of work. 
The tendency is to action rather than to worship ; 
to busy toil rather than to quiet sitting at the 
Saviour's feet to commune with him. — " Silent 
Times." 



248 



Miller. 



AUGUST 15. 



Master, it is good for us to be here : and let 
us make three tabernacles. — Luke 9 : 33. 



Devotion Prepares for Duty. 

DEVOTION is not all. Peter wished to stay 
on the mount of transfiguration, to go back 
no more to the cold, sin-stricken world below ; 
but no ; down at the mountain's base, human 
suffering and sorrow were waiting for the coming 
of the Healer, and the Master and his disciples 
must leave the rapture of heavenly communion, 
and hasten down to carry healing and comfort. 
It is always so. While we enjoy the blessedness 
of fellowship with God in the closet, there come 
in at our closed doors, and break upon our ears, 
the cries of human need and sorrow outside. 

The truest religious life is one whose devotion 
gives food and strength for service. The way to 
spiritual health lies in the paths of consecrated 
activity. It is related in monastic legends of St. 
Francesca, that although she was unwearied in 
her devotions, yet if, during her prayers, she 
was summoned away by a domestic duty, she 
would close her book cheerfully, saying that a 
wife and a mother, when called upon, must quit 
her God at the altar, to find him in her domestic 
affairs. — " Silent Times." 



249 



AUGUST 16. 



Miller. 



Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? — 
Acts 9 : 6. 



ACH morning I seek to give myself to my 



1 v Master for one day, saying, " Take me, 
Lord, and use me to-day as thou wilt. What- 
ever work thou hast for me to do, give it into 
my hand. If there are those thou wouldst have 
me to help in any way, send them to me. Take 
my time and use it as thou wilt." 

Sometimes the very first person to come into 
my study, in the golden hours of the morning, 
is a book agent, or one of those bland gentle- 
men who want to insure your life. . . . My first 
impulse is to bristle up and stand on my dignity, 
giving my visitor a very cool reception, taking 
no pains to hide my annoyance, and politely dis- 
missing him as soon as possible. But then I 
remember my morning's prayer. I asked my 
Master to send me my work ; if I am sincere, 
I must accept this man as divinely sent to me. 
He came from a home this morning that was 
very dreary. He is poor. He has gone from 
house to house only to have door after door 
shut in his face. He is very heavy-hearted. 
He greatly needs money, which I cannot give 
him ; but he needs far more, just now, a brother's 
sympathy, which I can give him. ... Or the er- 
rand may be the other way. He may have been 
sent to me with a benediction. Let us beware 
that we do not bow out of our room, with fretted 
frown, one whom God has sent to us. — " Week- 
day Religion." 



Practical Consecration. 




250 



Miller. 



AUGUST 17. 



Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the 
Lord. — Col. 3 : 23. 

Doing Daily Tasks for God. 

IN one of Murillo's pictures one sees the inte- 
rior of a convent kitchen, but doing the work 
in it are not mortals in odd dresses, but beauti- 
ful white-winged angels. One serenely puts the 
kettle on the fire to boil, and one is lifting up a 
pail of water with heavenly grace, and one is at 
the dresser, reaching up for plates, and there is 
a little cherub, running about, and getting in the 
way, trying to help. All are so busy and work- 
ing with such a will, and so refining is the work 
as they do it, that somehow you forget that pans 
are pans, and pots, pots, and only think of the 
angels, and how very natural and beautiful kitchen 
work is, — just what angels would do, of course, 
if called upon to do it. 

The picture is very suggestive. It shows us 
the dignity of all duty, even of the humblest 
drudgery. It is the motive and the aim that 
alone can consecrate anything we do, and the 
doing of God's will is always splendid work, 
though it be but washing dishes or cleaning a 
street. The humblest duty is a bit of God's will, 
and shines with heavenly radiance. This ought 
to be an inspiration to those who live in lowly 
places and can do only common task-work. Do it 
well and as God's will, and no great man's brilliant 
deeds will shine more brightly than your little 
things in God's sight. — " Glimpses through 
Life's Windows." 



251 



AUGUST 1 8. 



Miller. 



He passed by on the other side. — Luke 10:31. 
Passing by on the Other Side. 

THE story is very familiar. Neither the 
priest nor the Levite did the wounded 
man any harm. It was the robbers that hurt 
him almost to death. . . . Yet the story reads 
as if the priest and the Levite had not done 
just right, as if they had injured the wounded 
man in some way. . . . We do not think much 
of this kind of sins. At the close of the day Ave 
examine ourselves to find wherein we should 
confess sin. We remember the hasty word we 
spoke, we recall our self-indulgence, our selfish 
acts, our envyings and jealousies, our impatience 
and anger ; and we make confession of all these 
sins, asking forgiveness. But do we make con- 
fession of the things we did not, and ought to 
have done ? Are we penitent for our failures to 
do deeds of kindness ? During the day we have 
passed by on the other side of many a human 
need and want and danger. 

Some people talk a great deal about perfec- 
tion. They really mean a life free from positive 
and wilful sins. They do not think of that whole 
hemisphere of life which in them is almost empty. 
We are taught to pray, not, " Forgive us our 
crimes," but, " Forgive us our debts." Debts 
are what we owe. It is not supposed that re- 
spectable people will commit crimes against their 
neighbors ; but when we look into the matter 
closely, we shall find most of our days leave 
unpaid debts, — debts of love, kindness, or ser- 
vices due, but not paid. — The Golden Rule. 



252 



Miller. 



AUGUST 19. 



As we have therefore opportunity, let us do 
good unto all. — Gal. 6 : 10. 

Postmortem Kindnesses. 

DO not keep the alabaster boxes of your love 
and tenderness sealed up until your friends 
are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak 
approving, cheering words while their ears can 
hear them. The things you mean to say when 
they are gone, say before they go. The flowers 
you mean to send for their coffins, send to brighten 
and sweeten their homes before they leave them. 
If a sermon helps you, it will do the preacher 
good to tell him of it. If the editor writes an 
article that you like, he can write a still better 
one next week if you send him a note of thanks. 
If a book you read is helpful, do you not owe it 
to the author to write him a word of acknowledg- 
ment ? If you know a weary or neglected one, 
or one overwrought, would it not be such work as 
God's angels love to do, to seek to put a little 
brightness and cheer into his life, to manifest 
true sympathy with him, and to put into his trem- 
bling hand the cup filled with the wine of human 
love ? 

I have always said — and I am sure I am 
speaking for thousands of weary, plodding toil- 
ers — that if my friends have vases laid away 
filled with sympathy and affection, I would be 
glad if they would bring them out in some of my 
weary hours and open them. — " Week-day Re- 
ligion." 



2 53 



AUGUST 20. 



Miller. 



Whosoever will save his life shall lose it. — 
Matt. 16 : 25. 

Saving and Losing One's Life. 

WE all come every day to points where we 
must choose whether we will save or lose 
our life. Duties that are hard are facing us con- 
tinually. It is easier to be self-indulgent on Sun- 
days or week-day evenings, when we are weary 
or slightly indisposed, than it is to go to church 
services ; so we save our life by putting on wrap- 
per and slippers and staying at home. It is 
easier not to be a teacher in Sunday school ; it 
ties one down to have to go in all weathers to 
meet a class, and there are others who can teach. 
It is easier not to give money systematically to 
God's cause ; there are so many things of our 
own that we can spend it for, and it is comfort- 
able to have our bank account grow. It is 
easier not to be forgiving, but to hold grudges 
and remember wrongs done to us ; it costs far 
less struggle just to hate people who have been 
hateful to us, than to love them and be kind to 
them. It is easier not to be active in Christian 
work, but to just fold our hands and let others 
do it. It is easier not to burden ourselves much 
about lost souls, but just to look after our own life. 

These are illustrations of what losing one's 
life means. It is taking good care of one's self, 
keeping one's self back from inconvenient serv- 
ing. We do not need great occasions to give us 
chances to save or lose our life ; we have plenty 
of chances every common day. — The Golden 
Rule. 

254 



Miller. 



AUGUST 21. 



The apostles gathered themselves together 
unto Jesus, and told him all things. — Mark 6 : 



/~\ Jesus and tell him of all that we have done 
or tried to do during the day. We should tell 
him how we have lived, how we have done our 
work, how we have endured temptations, how we 
have treated those with whom we have been asso- 
ciated, how we have performed our mission as 
his servants, what words we have spoken for him, 
what efforts we have made to do good or to give 
comfort or help, and how we have met the calls 
upon us for sympathy and aid. 

We must not forget to tell him about the day's 
failures. Did we lose our patience ? Did we 
yield to temptation ? Did we neglect to speak 
the word for the Master we ought to have spoken ? 
Were we unkind to any one ? We must tell him 
of the efforts to do good which seemed to come 
to naught. At many a setting sun we come, 
weary and sad, with empty hands. Sometimes 
we are tempted to stay away from the Master and 
make no report. . . . Let us tell him all. That 
is the kind of an evening secret prayer that will 
bless us. It will make us very watchful all day 
if we remember that we must report to Jesus all 
we say, or do, or fail to do; it will keep us in 
more intimate relations with him. — u Come Ye 
Apart." 



Eventide Prayer. 




should go to 



2 55 



AUGUST 22. 



Miller. 



Happy is he that condemneth not himself in 
that thing which he alloweth. — Rom. 14 : 22. 



Doubtful Amusements. 

THE question as to what amusements are 
proper or improper for us, each one must 
answer for himself. Questions continually asked 
of pastors are such as these : " Is it right for a 
Christian to dance ? Or may he attend the thea- 
tre, or opera, or circus, or play cards ? " The true 
way to answer such questions is to appeal to ex- 
perience. What is the influence of such amuse- 
ments on our spiritual life and enjoyment ? Is 
prayer as sweet, as welcome, as helpful, after- 
wards ? Do we find our communion with God 
as sweet, as restful, as conscious ? Or do our 
amusements mar our peace and interrupt our 
enjoyment of the divine presence ? Do they 
unfit us for devotion, and do we find our hearts 
made cold and distracted by them ? Do they 
chill our ardor in Christian work ? At what 
times in our life do we care most for such pleas- 
ures ? Is it when our religious life is at its best, 
when love is most fervent, and zeal most earnest ? 

This is the experimental test. All the circum- 
stances about us are educating influences, and 
whatever is injurious to piety, whatever lowers 
the character, is not right or proper as a means 
of enjoyment. — " Week-day Religion." 



256 



Miller. 



AUGUST 23. 



And take up his cross, and follow me. — Matt. 
16 : 24. 

Our Crosses. 

NOTICE that it is his cross, and not some 
other man's, that he is to take up. It is 
the particular cross that God lays at our own 
feet that we are to bear. We are never to make 
crosses for ourselves, but we are always to accept 
those that are allotted to us. Each one's own 
cross is the best for him. Sometimes we think 
our lot is peculiarly hard, and we compare it with 
the lot of this or that other person, and we wish 
we had his cross instead of our own. But we do 
not know what other people's crosses really are. 
If we did, we might not want to exchange. The 
easiest cross for each one to bear is his own. 

There is a way to get crosses out of our lives 
altogether. A father explained it thus to his 
child. Taking two pieces of wood, one longer 
than the other, he said : " Let the longer piece 
represent God's will and the shorter piece your 
will. If I lay the two pieces side by side, par- 
allel to each other, there is no cross ; it is only 
when I lay the shorter piece across the longer 
that I can make a cross. So there can be a cross 
in my life only when my will falls athwart God's ; 
when I cannot say, 6 Thy will be done.' If my 
will sweetly acquiesces in his there is no cross." 
The way to take out the crosses is gladly to ac- 
cept, through love to him, whatever trial, pain, 
or loss God sends. — " Come Ye Apart." 



2 57 



AUGUST 24. 



Miller. 



Tribulation worketh patience. — Rom. 5 : 3. 
But let patience have her perfect work. — Jas. 
1 .4. 

Enduring Suffering* 

WE have all known Christian sufferers who 
have grown into rare, sweet beauty, as 
they have suffered. They have lost their earth- 
liness and have learned heavenliness. Pride has 
given way to humility. Impatience has become 
sweet patience. The harsh music has grown soft 
and gentle. The rough marble has taken the 
shape of graceful beauty. It is true, as a rule, 
that the noblest, richest, purest, most beautiful 
lives in this world have been lives of suffering. 
There are elements of loveliness in the depths of 
every life which only the fires of pain can bring 
out. The photographer carries his picture into 
a darkened room to develop it. God often 
takes his children into the chamber of pain and 
draws the curtains, while he there brings out the 
features of his own image, which before had been 
only dim and shadowy outlines. 

But our lesson is not yet complete. Not all 
afflictions make people better. Not all who suf- 
fer are made thereby more meet for heaven. 
Tribulation does not always work patience. We 
have all seen people suffering who only became 
more impatient, irritable, ill-tempered, selfish, and 
cold as they suffered. ... In no experience of 
life have most persons more need of wise friend- 
ship and firm, loving guidance than in their times 
of trouble. — "Life's Byways and Waysides." 



258 



Miller. 



AUGUST 25. 



He revealeth his secret unto his servants. — 
Amos 3 : 7. 

Seeing Beauty in God's Word. 

HE that would find the beautiful things in 
the Scriptures must have a mind and 
heart prepared for it. Hence the more of the 
divine life we have in our souls, the more will 
the sacred pages reveal to us. It is not so much 
intellectual acumen and fine scholarship that we 
need, as spiritual culture, love for Christ, and the 
warmth of devotion. 

A young lady purchased a book and read a 
few pages, but was not interested in it. Some 
months afterward she met the author, and a ten- 
der friendship sprung up, ripening into love and 
betrothal. Then the book was dull no longer. 
Every sentence had a charm for her heart. Love 
was the interpreter. So to those who do not 
know Christ personally, the Bible seems dry and 
uninteresting. But when they learn to know him 
and to love him, all is changed ; and the deeper 
their love for him becomes, the more do the sacred 
pages glow with beauty and light. 

A book is like a friend ; it grows familiar and 
confidential with use. At first shy and distant, 
it lets us into its heart after we have long pored 
over its pages. It opens of itself to the choicest 
chapters. A Bible we have long used seems to 
say things to us we never hear from a strange or 
a new book. — " Week-day Religion.'' 



259 



AUGUST 26. 



Miller. 



Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I com- 
mand you. — John 15 : 14. 

Friendship with Jesus. 

THERE is something very sweet in the thought 
that we may be Christ's friends. " The secret 
of the Lord is with them that fear him." This 
means that if we are Christ's friends he takes 
us into the closest intimacy. Not many of us 
realize all that is possible in the way of com- 
panionship with Christ. If we are on terms of 
unhindered friendship with him, we can talk to 
him freely, as friend with friend. 

"How does he talk to us?" some one asks. 
A heathen convert said, " When I pray, I talk to 
Christ; when I read my Bible, Christ speaks to 
me." If we live very close to Christ, the words 
of Scripture are very plain to us ; Christ himself, 
indeed, speaks to us in them. 

There was a godly man in Germany, named 
Bengel, who was noted for his intimacy with 
Christ. A friend desired to watch the saintly 
man at his devotions. So he concealed himself 
one night in his room. Bengel sat long at his 
table, reading his New Testament. The hours 
passed. At length the clock struck midnight 
and the old man spread out his hands, and said 
with great joy, " Dear Lord Jesus, we are on the 
same old terms." Then, closing his book, he was 
soon in bed and asleep. He had learned the 
secret of friendship with Christ. — " Year Book." 



260 



Miller. 



AUGUST 27. 



Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall 
see God. — Matt. 5 : 8. 



Heart Purity. 

WHAT is heart purity? It is not sinless- 
ness, for none are sinless. A pure heart 
must be a penitent heart, that has been forgiven 
by Christ and cleansed by his blood. We have 
a Bible promise that though our sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be whiter than snow. The 
pure heart is one, then, that Christ has cleansed. 
It is one also that is kept pure by obedient living 
and close communion with God. We are taught 
in the Scriptures that an important part of true 
religion is to keep one's self unspotted from the 
world. It is an evil world in which we live, but 
if we faithfully follow Christ, doing his will, keep- 
ing our hearts open to every influence of the 
divine Spirit, we shall be kept by divine power 
from the corruption that flows about us. As the 
lily remains unstained amid the soiled waters 
of the bog in which it grows, so does the lowly, 
patient, loving heart of the Christian disciple 
remain pure in the midst of all this world's cor- 
ruption. Over such a heart God's face beams 
in perpetual benediction. — " Come Ye Apart." 

" Y strength is as the strength of ten, 
Because my heart is pure." 



261 



AUGUST 28. 



Miller. 



If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to 
heart, ... I will curse your blessings. — Mal. 
2:2. 

Heeding God's Hessages. 

WHAT becomes of all the sermons ? Many 
of us hear at least two every Sabbath. 
Every sermon ought to be a message from God. 
The preacher is God's messenger, or he is noth- 
ing. If he speaks only his own words, and does 
not speak for God, he is not a preacher. They 
must be words of life, too, which he speaks. 
"The words that I speak unto you," said Jesus, 
" they are spirit and they are life." 

God's word is compared by the great Teacher 
to seed. . . . What becomes of the seed depends 
upon the soil. What becomes of the sermon 
depends upon the hearers. There are hearts 
that are like the w T ayside, trodden down by pass- 
ing feet, so that no holy word of God finds 
entrance into them. There are rocky hearts, 
emotional, promising well for a little while, but 
not enduring trial and temptation. There are 
thorny hearts in which grow the roots of other 
things that choke out the divine seeds. Xo fruit 
of the Spirit ripens to anything beautiful in them. 

The parable tells what comes of a great deal 
of the holy seed that is scattered on the earth. 
Nothing comes of it. The birds get it : the heat 
withers it ; briers and thorns choke it. But there 
are also hearts that receive the words of truth, 
keep them, nourishing them into growths which 
yield a rich harvest. — "Life's Byways and 
Waysides." 



262 



Miller. 



AUGUST 29. 



Am I my brother's keeper ? — Gen. 4 : 9. 



Our Responsibility for Others. 

ARE you your brother's keeper? Are you 
set to watch against danger to his soul ? 
Are you a parent whose duty it is to guard your 
own children against the perils of sin that lurk in 
ambush all around them ? Are you a teacher 
with a class of young people intrusted to your 
care to shield and train and keep ? Are you 
a sister with brothers dear to you, whom you 
are to protect from temptation ? Are you a 
brother, and have you sisters tender and exposed 
to danger, whose defender you should be ? Are 
you a friend, and is there one beset by perils, 
over whom God has set you as guide or pro- 
tector ? Most of us are in some way the guard- 
ian of some other souls. Are we watching or are 
we sleeping ? The time to fulfil our duty of 
guardianship is when the dangers are imminent. 
There is no use for the lookout on the ship to 
become vigilant only after the vessel is among 
the rocks. There is no use for the sentinel, in 
the time of war, to arouse and begin to watch 
when the enemy has stolen in and captured the 
field. Remember that the time to watch is 
before the danger has done its deadly work. 
When, through your negligence, it has come 
and destroyed the precious life, you may almost 
as well sleep on. — "Silent Times." 



263 



AUGUST 30. 



Miller. 



Who art thou that judgest another man's ser- 
vant ? to his own master he standeth or falleth. 
— Rom. 14 : 4. 

The Critical Habit. 

WE may as well confess that we are all 
prone to be critical of our fellows. . . . 
Especially should we think of the influence of 
this critical habit on Christian workers. It is 
not our work they are doing. They are not in 
our employ. We are not their masters. They 
are not under our direction. We have no right 
whatever to dictate to them how they shall do 
the work of Christ, or criticise the way they do 
it. Christ is their Master. It is his work that 
they are doing. They do it under his direction. 
To him as their Master they stand or fall. . . . 
It may be that we know better ways of working 
and could teach them much. But let us never 
assume to be their censors, their judges, their 
critics, talking of the sacred things of Christ as 
if they were only bits of common week-day work. 

Shall we not learn to look on all other Chris- 
tians and their work as Christ looks upon us and 
our work, — with patience and love ? Shall we 
not seal our lips on every fault-finding word that 
we are tempted to speak when we see flaws or 
mistakes ? Criticism is not our mission. Two 
things we are set here to do ; we should do our 
own work as well as we can ; then we should 
give cheer, inspiration, and encouragement to 
every other worker for Christ who comes within 
our influence. — The Golden Ride. 



264 



Miller. 



AUGUST 31. 



Thy shoes shall be iron and brass ; and as thy 
days, so shall thy strength be. — Deut. 33 : 25. 

Iron Shoes for Rough Roads. 

PART of Asher's allotted portion was hilly 
and rugged. Common sandals, made of 
wood or leather, would not endure the wear and 
tear of the sharp, flinty rocks. There was need, 
therefore, for some special kind of shoes. Hence 
the form of the promise : " Thy shoes shall be 
iron.". . . Asher's portion was not an acci- 
dental one; it was of God's choosing. Nor is 
there any accident in the ordering of the place, 
the conditions, the circumstances, of any child of 
God. 

Shoes of iron are promised only to those who 
are to have rugged roads. There is a comfort- 
ing suggestion here for all who find peculiar 
hardness in their lives. Peculiar favor is pledged 
to them. God will provide for the ruggedness 
of their way. They will have a divine blessing 
which would not be theirs but for the roughness 
and ruggedness. The Hebrew parallelism gives 
the same promise, without figure, in the same 
verse : " As thy days, so shall thy strength be." 
Be sure, if your path is rougher than mine, you 
will get more help than I will. There is a most 
delicate connection between earth's needs and 
heaven's grace. Days of struggle get more grace 
than calm, quiet days. Sorrow draws comfort 
that never would have come in joy. For rough 
roads there are iron shoes. — " Making the 
Most of Life." 

265 



SEPTEMBER 

WITH 

DWIGHT L. MOODY. 



September. 



DWIGHT L. MOODY. 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER I. 



And she had a sister called Mary, which also 
sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. — Luxe 
io : 39. 

Sitting at the Feet of Jesus. 

THE longer I live and the older I grow, the 
more convinced I am that there are times 
when we must sit quietly at the feet of Jesus, 
and let God only speak to our souls. O young 
friend, learn that lesson. It will save you many 
a painful hour. Just keep quietly alone, and 
learn of Jesus. You know how it is when a man 
is alone with his wife, that he tells her the pre- 
cious secrets of his soul. It is not when the 
family are around, or when there is company. 
So, when we want to get the secrets of heaven, 
we want to be alone with Jesus, and listen, that 
he may come and whisper to our souls. The 
richest hours I have ever had with God have 
not been in great assemblies, but sitting alone at 
the feet of Jesus. But in these days of steam 
and telegraph we think we cannot get time to 
listen to Christ's whisper in our ears. We are 
so busy we do not choose that one thing needful. 
If we did, we would not talk so much as we 
would listen, and when we did speak it would be 
only when we had something to say. We would 
hear words that come from the Master, and they 
would burn down deep into our souls and bring 
forth fruit. — " Glad Tidings." 



269 



SEPTEMBER 2. 



Moody. 



Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing 
before God : for God is in heaven, and thou upon 
earth. — Eccl. 5 : 2. 

Reverence in Prayer. 

THE first element in true prayer is adoration. 
I am shocked sometimes when I think how 
thoughtlessly we come into the presence of God. 
When we really realize that we are in his pres- 
ence, our words will be very few and carefully 
chosen ; we will not be so flippant and so fluent, 
and we will not be so irreverent. Holiness be- 
longs to him ; confusion belongs to us. Our 
position is in the dust. It was when Abraham 
fell on his face that God talked with him, and 
if we are going to have power with God, there 
must be a humbling first ; if there is to be a 
lifting up, there must first be a casting down. 
You remember how Isaiah said that he saw God, 
high and lifted up, and heard the seraphim cry, 
"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts ! " Isaiah 
was filled with consciousness of his own unclean- 
ness until an angel came with a coal from off the 
altar and purged his lips, and his iniquity was 
taken away. Daniel was filled with this sense 
of God's holiness and his own un worthiness ; 
and Job said, " I have heard of thee by the hear 
ing of the ear, but now my eyes see thee : and 
I abhor myself." When Christ prayed, he said 
" Holy Father," and he taught his disciples to 
pray, " Hallowed be thy name." When we go 
into the presence of God, let us be filled with 
holy awe. — Northfield Echoes. 



270 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 3. 



And the apostles gathered themselves together 
unto Jesus, and told him all things. — Mark 6: 



j[ long friends. Keep short accounts with 
God. You should see the face of God every 
morning before you see the face of any human 
being. If you come to the cross every morning, 
you never will get but one day's journey from 
the cross. You must say to yourself, " I want 
to feed my soul as well as my body at breakfast 
every morning. I want to see the face of God 
before I see the face of any earthly man." Just 
keep close to the cross, and close to him, and if 
anything has gone wrong during the day or even- 
ing, do not sleep until that account has been 
settled. Take it to Christ, and tell it right out 
to him ; tell him how you are sorry, and ask him 
to forgive you. He delights to forgive. That is 
what I mean by keeping a short account with 
God. When you go to a grocery store and get 
a little sugar every few days, in a short time you 
will find the grocer has a bill against you for ten 
pounds. You are surprised ; you forget how 
much you did get. Perhaps, then, you quarrel 
with the grocer and have a great deal of trouble 
from it. If you kept short accounts, you would 
remember what you owed. Keep short accounts, 
or else you won't prosper. If you sin, bear in 
mind you have an Advocate in Jesus Christ. — 
"Glad Tidings." 



Keeping Short Accounts with God. 




accounts make 



271 



SEPTEMBER 4. 



Moody. 



Your iniquities have separated between you 
and your God, and your sins have hid his face 
from you, that he will not hear. — Isa. 59 : 2. 

Sin Separates from God. 

IF sin in its nature is so dark and degrading, 
what must its consequences be ? Sin has been 
called " the suicidal action of the human will." 
Paul asserts that " the wages of sin is death," 
while James gives the biography of sin in the 
words, " When lust hath conceived, it bringeth 
forth sin ; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth 
forth death." 

The first result of sin is separation from God. 
... It was sin in the Israelitish camp which for- 
feited to them divine assistance before the walls 
of Ai. The sin of rebellious disobedience ter- 
minated the communion between God and Saul. 
It was after the prophet Nathan's denunciation 
of David's sin that the Psalmist wrote, " Cast 
me not away from thy presence ; and take not 
thy holy spirit from me." And when a thou- 
sand years later " his own self bare our sins in 
his own body on the tree," for the time being 
God turned away from beholding the Sin-bearer, 
while Christ trod " the wine-press alone." 

Sin is always man's bitterest enemy. It sep- 
arates him from his Maker. It separates him 
from his fellow beings. No position is too high 
for sin to debase ; no place so hallowed but it 
seeks to corrupt; no home so sacred but it seeks 
to destroy. — Ladies' Home Journal. 



272 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 5. 



He that covereth his sins shall not prosper : but 
whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have 
mercy. — Prov. 28 : 13. 

Courage to Confess Sin. 

AN unconfessed sin is an ever-present foe. 
It makes a man cowardly, suspicious, and 
malicious. One unconfessed wrong has often- 
times ruined a man's whole life, deprived him of 
its joys, destroyed its friendships, and clouded his 
entire course. 

The question naturally arises : To whom 
should a wrong be confessed ? First, to God ; 
for all sin is against him. But confession must 
also be made to fellow men. Confession must 
be as wide as transgression — no less, no more. 
We must confess to all whom we have wronged, 
on the one hand, but we need not advertise our 
sins to those whom we have not injured. If I 
have injured one man, my confession should be 
to that individual ; if I have wronged a number 
of persons, a company or a family, my confession 
should be to those affected by my action ; and 
if I have sinned against society, my confession 
should be public. 

This step in repentance is, perhaps, the most 
difficult of all. We have not the moral courage 
to confess that we are wrong. Sometimes con- 
fession may mean disgrace and humiliation ; but 
whatever the cost, there can be no repentance — 
such as God accepts — unless there is confession 
to those we wrong, and full restitution, if in our 
power. — Ladies' Home Journal. 



273 



SEPTEMBER 6. 



Moody. 



Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repent- 
ance. — Matt. 3 : 8. 

Fruits Meet for Repentance. 

ONE thing is sure, my friends : if God is 
going to forgive us our sins, we have got 
to repent of our sins and turn from them. " Let 
the wicked forsake his ways." Not only must 
we forsake our sins, but we must bring forth 
fruits meet for repentance. I don't know who 
the young man was who went to his employer the 
other morning and said, " There's the money I 
took from you some years ago," but that was 
bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. We 
have not only got to forsake our sins, but if we 
have injured any one, if we have slandered him 
and caused him to suffer, we must make restitu- 
tion as far as we can. And when we bring forth 
such fruits, men will have confidence in our 
Christianity. I heard of a man who had four of 
his neighbor's sheep stray in among his own, 
and he took the marks off them and kept 
them. When he was converted, these four sheep 
troubled him. Don't think you are going to have 
peace with God if you've got four sheep that be- 
long to somebody else, or have put somebody 
else's money into your pocket. 

Now let us think over if we have anything to 
repent of, if we have abused any one, misrepre- 
sented any one, if we have taken anything that be- 
longs to any one else. If we have anything to 
repent of, let us make clear work of it and turn 
from our sins. — Tract. 



274 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 7. 



One is your Master, even Christ ; and all ye 
are brethren. — Matt. 23 : 8. 

Which Master Do You Serve? 

" /^^\NE is your Master." Ah, to learn who 
is your Master and serve him only ! We 
are willing to serve our friends, to serve the 
church, to serve the public, and please every one 
and forget the Lord. But we should have just 
one Master, and live to please him alone, and he 
should be the Lord of glory. He is a good Mas- 
ter. I want to recommend him to you to-day. 
If he is not your Master, then the devil is. Ev- 
ery one has a master, and that master is either 
Satan or Christ. You may not acknowledge it, 
you may not know it ; but either the Lord of 
glory or else the prince of the powers of dark- 
ness is the one you serve. Satan is a hard and 
cruel master. If you make mistakes under him, 
he will have no mercy on you. When you get 
into trouble, if you are in his service, you 
have to suffer indeed; but with the Lord of 
glory for your master, if you make mistakes or 
fall into error, all you have- to do is to go and 
confess to him, and he will forgive you quickly 
and smile upon you, and restore to you the joy 
of salvation if you have lost it. O that we might 
learn the sweet lesson that " One is our Master," 
and that One is Christ in heaven. Only one 
master, but one to please and to serve ; to live 
with that idea in view all the while — one to 
please and one to glorify — is a most blessed 
thing. — " Glad Tidings." 



275 



SEPTEMBER 8. 



Moody. 



These things have I written unto you that be- 
lieve on the name of the Son of God ; that ye may 
know that ye have eternal life. — i John 5:13. 



it is presumptuous to say that they are 
saved, that they have passed from death unto 
life, that they are going to have a place at 
God's right hand. But the Bible teaches very 
clearly that we can know we are saved. If we 
want light, we can get it. We can know we have 
passed from death unto life if we are in earnest 
about it. 

There are twenty-one chapters in the Gospel 
of John, and they all speak of believing. " Be- 
lieve " is the key of that Gospel. It just runs 
right straight on in the whole book. But turn 
over into John's first epistle, and you will find 
that the key to that epistle is, " Know." Forty- 
two times that word occurs in these few chapters. 
" These things are written that ye might know." 
I don't believe it is the mind of God that we 
should go through the world in darkness, not 
knowing whether we have been saved or not. 
The best book on " Assurance " is the first 
epistle of John. If you are in doubt about 
your own salvation, read it and you will know. 

It is the privilege of every child of God to say, 
"Abba, Father! Heaven is my home, God is 
my Father, Jesus Christ is my Saviour." — " Ten 
Days with Moody." 



Assurance. 




honestly believe that 



276 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 9. 



There was no room for them in the inn. — 
Luke 2 : 7. 

Room for Jesus. 

IS not this world about like that little town in 
Bethlehem, — there is no room for Jesus? 
What nation wants him to-day ? Does this na- 
tion want him ? Suppose you should put it to 
a popular vote, I don't believe there is a town 
in the whole republic that would vote for him. 
Does the church of God want him ? I am 
ashamed to say that there are many of our 
churches who really would not want him. There 
would be a different state of things in the church 
of God to-day if Christ should come. A great 
many church-members do not want him ; they 
say, " My life is not right." There are very few 
families that would make room for him. . . . 
When it comes to a real personal God, the world 
don't want him, the nations of the earth don't 
want him. ... If the nations won't make room 
for him, if the church won't make room for him, 
if the families won't make room for him, thanks 
be to God, we can make room for him in our 
hearts. Is there room in your heart for self ? 
Is there room for the world ? Is there room for 
pride ? Is there room for jealousy ? Is there 
room for everything and everybody else but the 
Son of God ? Will you turn him away, or will 
you make room for him ? Just the minute you 
receive him, he will come. — " Glad Tidings." 

<{ O, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, come ! 
There is room in my heart for thee." 



277 



SEPTEMBER 10. 



Moody. 



Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an ex- 
ample, that ye should follow his steps. — i Pet. 
2 : 21. 



VV footsteps. Men on the frontier in the 
wilds of America, in going through the Rocky 
Mountains, will find an Indian trail where there 
is only one footprint, as if only one man had 
gone over the mountains. I am told that the 
chief goes before, and all the rest of the tribe 
follow him, and put their foot into his footsteps. 
That is what our Chief wants us to do. He has 
passed through the heavens, and gone up on 
high, and wants us to follow. 

Whenever we are tempted, if we would just 
ask, " I wonder if Jesus would do it if he were 
here ? " and be willing to take him as our guide, 
what a help it would be ! . . . Once I w r as trying 
to walk across a field after a fresh fall of snow. 
I tried to see how straight a line I could make 
with my footprints in the snow. When I looked 
around to see how straight I was going, I always 
walked crooked ; but if I kept my eye on the 
mark ahead of me, and did not take it off, I 
could walk straight enough. So if Christians 
only keep their eyes on the mark. — on Christ 
Jesus, and follow in his footsteps, not turning 
round to see what kind of a path they have 
made, — they would walk straighter. He is our 
model. — " Glad Tidings." 



Following Jesus. 




follow in his 



278 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER II. 



Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read. 
— Isa. 34 : 1 6. 

Hints about Bible Study, 

I HAVE been wonderfully blessed in studying 
the Bible, by taking up one book at a time. 
I used to try to read the Bible through in a 
year. I would as soon read a dictionary that 
way now. Sometimes I want something to stir 
me up ; other days I want something to com- 
fort me. When you read right through, you 
don't get much comfort. It is a great deal 
better, it seems to me, to take up a book at a 
time. 

Or take a character or a type. How many 
antetypes there were of Christ ! — Adam, Abel, 
Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and so on 
all through the Old Testament. Another good 
way is to take a subject. That's how we get 
grounded in the fundamental truths of the Bible. 
Take " Repentance," for example. Read up 
everything you can find about repentance. Take 
time. Suppose you spend a month ; you could n't 
spend it better. 

Let the Bible speak for itself. Don't listen to 
what this man and that man says about it, but 
study the Bible. And as Bishop Stevens used 
to say, " Don't study it with your little red lamp 
of Methodism, or your little blue light of Pres- 
byterianism, or the light of the Episcopal Church, 
but just the light of Calvary." Come without 
prejudice, and say, " Whatever this book teaches 
I must receive." — "Ten Days with Moody." 



279 



SEPTEMBER 12. 



Moody. 



Be ready always to give an answer to every 
man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is 
in you. — i Pet. 3:15. 

How to Be Well Grounded in Doctrine. 



J[ every wind of doctrine if you know, ac- 
tually know, the Word of God. Let me tell you 
how to do it. Get a concordance ; if you have 
not got one, get one at once. Then just take up 
the Bible and study it properly ; take up atone- 
ment, justification, sanctification ; take up any of 
these doctrines and spend a month. Study it for 
yourselves, and by and by you will be armed and 
equipped, and if any man tells you that that doc- 
trine is not true, you can defend that doctrine 
and quote Scripture to that man ; and I don't 
know anything that will down a man quicker 
than quoting Scripture. I would rather have 
" Thus saith the Lord," than tons of argument. 
It is not what this man thinks and that man 
thinks, as much as what. God says, and what we 
want is more men and women who can expound 
the Scriptures. I believe there is a mighty 
famine in the land just for want of having the 
Word expounded. 

I would like to urge upon all young people the 
study of the Word of God. Study it, make up 
your minds that you are going into active ser- 
vice, and therefore you must be armed and 
equipped. O, feed and sustain yourselves by 
going straight to the Word of God. — Report 
of the Boston Christian Endeavor Conven- 
tion. 




carried away with 



280 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 1 3. 



The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of 
God. — Eph. 6 : 17. 

The Broken Sword. 

WHAT is an army good for without weap- 
ons ? Or if they have weapons and do 
not know how to use them ? That is what has 
been the trouble with China in the late war. 
Japan, that little country, marched right through 
the nation. Why ? Because China did not know 
how to use her weapons, and can only fire off a 
few firecrackers. There is the trouble, and 
many a Christian enterprise and many Christian 
workers have come to naught because they did 
not know how to use the Word of God, which 
is the sword of the Spirit. . . . Let me say that 
I hope that the Christian Endeavor will cling 
to the whole Bible, and not a part of it. A man 
is not going to do much with a broken sword. 
If I believe that only half of the Bible is a 
sword, I am not going to be much of a fighter. 
. . . What we want is to remember that Christ 
says, " The Scriptures cannot be broken ; " and 
he had reference to the Old Testament. When 
Paul wrote to Timothy, " All Scripture is given 
by inspiration of God, and is profitable," he had 
reference to the Old Testament ; the New was 
not yet written. " What," you say, " all of the 
Scripture given by inspiration ? " Yes, but it 
does not say all is inspired. When the devil told 
the lie in Eden, he was not inspired to tell the 
lie, but some one was inspired to write it for us. 
If he had not been, we would not have known 
about the devil's lying. — Report of the Boston 
Christian Endeavor Convention. 



281 



SEPTEMBER 1 4. 



Moody. 



And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had 
read three or four leaves, he cut it with the pen- 
knife, and cast it into the fire that was on the 
hearth, until all the roll was consumed. — Jer. 
36 : 23. 

A Mutilated Bible. 

A CERTAIN man went to see his minister 
and took his Bible, and he called it the 
minister's Bible. The minister said, " Why do 
you call it my Bible ? I have never owned it." 
" Well," he said, " I have sat under your min- 
istry about five years, and when you say a thing 
is not authentic, I have cut it out." And he had 
all of Job cut out, and all of Revelation, and 
he had got about a third of it cut out. The 
minister did not want him to go round town 
showing it as his Bible, and he asked him to give 
it to him. " No," says the man, " I have got the 
covers, and I will hold on to them;" and off he 
went, holding on to the covers. 

If some men had their way, I think you would 
have just about a third or a half of the Bible in 
the course of a few years. If one minister can 
say, " This is not authentic," and another can 
say, "That is not authentic," I would like to 
know where we will soon be. We will be with- 
out a Bible. 

My friends, let us hold on to every scrap of 
that book ; not a part of it, but from Genesis to 
Revelation, the whole of it. I pity the Christian 
worker who thinks he is going to succeed by 
picking the Bible to pieces. — Report of the 
Boston Christian Endeavor Convention. 



282 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 1 5- 



Let them make me a sanctuary ; that I may- 
dwell among them. — Exod. 25:8. 

Three Dwelling=places of the Holy Spirit. 

I WANT to call your attention to three dwell- 
ing-places of the Holy Spirit on this earth. 
In the tabernacle of Moses I read that they 
made a place for God to come, and he came in 
the form of the Shekinah cloud. The cloud 
filled the tabernacle, and Moses was not able to 
enter the tent. That tabernacle was so filled with 
the glory of God that Moses could not endure it. 
Some have had that experience. God has so 
filled them with his Holy Spirit that they have 
had to cry, " Stay thine hand." 

And then I read again that when the temple 
was built, the Levites formed a choir and were 
all with one accord in the temple. While they 
were singing, the Shekinah cloud came and filled 
the house of the Lord so that the Levites could 
not go on. The power came upon them so that 
the service could not go on. The glory of God 
filled that temple. 

Now, the moment a man opens his heart, his 
body becomes a temple for God to dwell in. 
Christ says, " I will give you another Comforter, 
that he may abide with you forever. He shall be 
in you." Let us believe that these bodies are the 
temples of the Holy Ghost. If he does n't dwell 
in our hearts, it is because we won't have him. 
"Ten Days with Moody." 



283 



SEPTEMBER 1 6. 



Moody. 



And they were all rilled with the Holy Ghost. 
— Acts 2 : 4. 

A Personal Experience. 

HOW well I remember two holy women who 
used to come to my meetings ! At the 
close of the Sabbath evening meetings they would 
say to me, " We have been praying for you." I 
said, " Why don't you pray for the people ? " 
They answered, " You need the power." " I 
need power ? " I said to myself ; " why, I thought 
I had power." I had a large Sabbath-school and 
the largest congregation in Chicago. There were 
some conversions at the time. In a sense, I was 
satisfied. But these two godly women kept pray- 
ing for me right along, and their earnest talk 
about " anointing for special service " set me to 
thinking, f asked them to come and talk with 
me, and we got down on our knees. They poured 
out their hearts that I might receive the anointing 
from the Holy Spirit, and there came a great hun- 
ger into my soul. ... I was crying all the time 
that God would fill me with his Spirit. Well, 
one day, in the city of New 7 York — O, what a 
day ! I cannot describe it ; I seldom refer to it ; 
it is almost too sacred an experience to name. 
Paul had an experience of which he never spoke 
for fourteen years. I can only say, God revealed 
himself to me, and I had such an experience of his 
love that I had to ask him to stay his hand. I 
went to preaching again. The sermons were not 
different ; I did not present any new truths ; and 
yet hundreds were converted. — Tract. 



284 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 1 7. 



Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you. — Acts i : 8. 



Anointing for Service. 

CONVERSION is one thing { the power of 
the Holy Ghost resting on us for Christian 
life and service is another thing. Many forget to 
look and pray for this latter blessing, and hence 
ninety-nine Christians out of a hundred have no 
abundance in life, and there is no power with 
their testimony to win souls. At the close of 
Christ's life the one thing he taught his disciples 
to look for was power, and they were to look for 
that because the Holy Ghost was to come. They 
were " sons of God," but without this special 
power, this " enduement of the Spirit". . . He 
told them to " tarry in Jerusalem, till they should 
be endued with power from on high." I can 
imagine them saying, " Why, we have the power. 
Is it not a mistake to tell us to go back to Jeru- 
salem and wait till the Holy Ghost comes ? " 

I entreat you to look for this enduement, and 
if you are thus anointed your influence will be 
felt far and near. We may all get into a position 
where God can and will take us up and use us. 
Then men shall not think so much of us, the 
instruments, as of God himself. Some Christians 
who once had the power have lost it. They work 
still, but without the anointing, — they speak, but 
without unction. — Tract. 



285 



SEPTEMBER 1 8. 



Moody. 



Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. — Ps. 
81 : 10. 



Hungry and Thirsty Christians. 

ARE you thirsty ? I sometimes wish we had 
in all our churches a meeting for hungry 
and thirsty Christians. I would put a man at 
the door so as not to let anybody else in. Let 
him ask every one, " Are you hungry ? Are you 
thirsty ? " They would not know w T hat you meant, 
some of them. Lots of people go to prayer meet- 
ing because it is customary. They go year after 
year, — go for nothing and get nothing. . 

It seems to me that if we could have a meeting 
in all our churches of two, three, four, or five 
Christians, all really in earnest in asking for the 
gift of the Holy Spirit, they would get it. But I 
tell you, you have got to stoop to get that. God 
is not going to give it to those who are careless 
and indifferent. But if you and I really want it, 
— want it above anything else, — then I believe 
God will give it. " Blessed are they which do 
hunger and thirst after righteousness ; for they 
shall be filled." Are you hungry and thirsty after 
righteousness? I like that "shall be." "They 
shall be filled." My brother, are you filled ? Put 
the question right to yourself. — " Ten Days 
with Moody." 



286 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 1 9. 



My grace is sufficient for thee. — 2 Cor. 12:9. 



Grace Sufficient. 



OD gives us grace enough to work out our 



VJ" salvation as we go along. Remember, he 
won't give it to us all at once. If he did, we 
would n't know what to do with it. A man once 
built a house on the shore of Lake Erie, and laid 
a pipe from the lake to supply the house with 
water. Suppose some one had given him the 
whole lake. What could he have done with it ? 
He only wanted communication with the lake. 
God supplies us with just as much grace as we 
need, and no more. Don't be afraid you won't 
get all you require. 

I was once talking with a lady who was afraid 
she could not live a Christian life because there 
would be so many trials and temptations in the 
future. I tried in one way and another to con- 
vince her that she need have no misgivings, — 
that God would supply daily grace sufficient for 
every emergency. Nothing availed till I used the 
old story of the clock. The pendulum of a clock 
once became discouraged, — did n't see how it was 
ever going to tick out all the hours it was expected 
to measure. The clock reasoned with it, saying, 
" One tick at a time," and so it went on with its 
slow and steady " tick-tick." The Lord will always 
give us grace as we ask for it, — enough for the 
time. — "Ten Days with Moody." 




287 



SEPTEMBER 20. 



Moody. 



Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? 
-Rom. 8: 35. 

The Love of Christ. 

IT often happens that there is great profession 
of love and esteem when a man is in pros- 
perity. Let reverses come, and the professed 
friend fails. But Christ manifested a love that 
was boundless. In the apostle John's record 
of the last supper he tells us that Christ " hav- 
ing loved his own which were in the world, he 
loved them unto the end." 

. . . Mr. Spurgeon was visiting a friend in 
the country, and when being shown about the 
place, he noted a large weather-vane bearing 
the text, " God is love." " Do you mean to 
tell the whole countryside," asked Mr. Spurgeon, 
" that God's love is as changeable as the wind ? " 
" No," replied his friend, " but I mean to tell 
them that God is love no matter which way the 
wind blows." 

Among the many victims of the Paris Com- 
mune was a Catholic bishop. He was a man 
who knew something of the love of God in his 
own experience. In the little cell where he was 
confined, awaiting execution, was a small window 
in the shape of a cross. After his death was 
found written above the cross, " Height " ; below 
it, " Depth " ; and at the end of each arm of the 
cross, " Length " and " Breadth." He had learned 
that God's love was unfailing in the hour of 
adversity and death. — Ladies' Home Journal. 



288 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 21. 



O Lord, revive thy work. — Hab. 3 : 2. 
Revivals. 

I DON'T believe in spasmodic efforts, when the 
church rouses for a few days, only to go back 
to sleep again for a year or five years ; but God 
has his special harvest seasons in nature, why 
not in grace ? The longer I live, the more I 
believe in revivals. . . . We must get things 
out of the way for a revival. When the Saviour 
came of old, John cried, " Prepare ye the way of 
the Lord." I believe that in many places the 
Spirit of the Lord is grieved, and his blessing is 
withheld, simply because we crowd him out of 
our churches. We hold meetings during the Week 
of Prayer, and Christians are getting warmed and 
revived, and the hearts of sinners are melting; 
but the moment the week is over we clear the way 
for sociables and lectures and concerts. Shall 
it be so in our churches this winter ? 

... If we want a revival in our churches, 
we must pray for it. It is n't great preaching 
that we want so much as great praying. All our 
quickening must come from the Holy Spirit's 
presence and power. The earnest, importunate 
prayer of one person, who will not let God go 
without an answer, may call down the blessing. 

. . . But we must not only pray for a revival, 
we must work for it. Many folks act as if the 
verse in the Bible were, " Let him that heareth 
pray, Come." They pray for their friends, their 
children, but they have never said, " Come." — 
Sunday School Times. 



289 



SEPTEMBER 22. 



Moody. 



Whereby are given unto us exceeding great 
and precious promises ; that by these ye might be 
partakers of the divine nature. — 2 Pet. i : 4. 

Do We Heed God's Promises? 

A POOR old widow, living in the Scottish 
Highlands, was called upon one day by a 
gentleman who had heard that she was in need. 
The old lady complained of her condition, and 
remarked that her son was in Australia doing well. 
" But does he do nothing to help you ? " inquired 
the visitor. " No, nothing," was the reply. " He 
writes me regularly once a month, but only sends 
me a little picture with his letter." The gentle- 
man asked to see one of the pictures that she 
had received, and found each one of them to be 
a draft for ten pounds. 

That is the condition of many of God's chil- 
dren. He has given us many " exceeding great 
and precious promises," which we either are 
ignorant of, or fail to appropriate. Many of 
them seem to be pretty pictures of an ideal 
peace and rest, but are not appropriated as 
practical helps in daily life. An open Bible 
places them within the reach of all, and we 
may appropriate the blessing which such a 
knowledge brings. How Christians can live 
in an atmosphere of distrust is a mystery to me. 
Compare a life of distrust in God, with the 
glorious confidence in his loving mercy and 
tender care. What a contrast ! One a stum- 
bling-block to the world, and the other a bright 
and shining light for God. — Ladies' Home Journal. 



290 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 23. 



He which converteth the sinner from the error 
of his way shall save a soul from death. — Jas. 
5 : 20. 

Soul=winning. 

THERE are many of us willing to do great 
things for the Lord, but few of us are will- 
ing to do little things. The mighty sermon on 
regeneration was preached to one man. There 
are many who are willing to preach to thousands, 
but are not willing to take their seat beside one 
soul and lead that soul to the blessed Jesus. We 
must get down to personal effort — this bringing 
one by one to the Son of God. We can find no 
better example of this than in the life of Christ 
himself. Look at the wonderful sermon that he 
preached to that lone woman at the well of 
Samaria. He was tired and weary, but he had 
time and the heart to preach to her. This is but 
one of many instances in the life of the Master 
from which we may learn a precious lesson. If 
the Son of God had time to preach to one soul, 
cannot every one of us go and do the same ? . . . 
The trouble is that we are afraid to speak to 
men about their souls. Let us ask God to give 
us grace to overcome this man-fearing spirit. 
There is a wife, but she dare not speak to her 
husband about his soul. There is a father that 
dare not speak to his son about his soul. We 
want to speak to our neighbors about these 
things. We call it a little work, but let me say 
to you that it is a great work. If we do this 
we might turn ten thousand to the Son of God. 
— "Glad Tidings." 



291 



SEPTEMBER 24. 



Moody. 



A peculiar people, zealous of good works. — 
Tit. 2 : 14. 

Wanted — Peculiar People. 

I 7E do not like to be considered peculiar. 



want to be like the world, and mingle with the 
world, so that people won't consider us peculiar. 
I hear people say sometimes, " Yes, she is a good 
woman, but" — with a shrug or a grimace — 
" she is very peculiar." " Yes, a very good man ; 
yes, O yes, but very peculiar." I would just 
like to make one journey round the world to see 
if I could not find one church made up of pecul- 
iar people. That church would shake the whole 
world. Christ taught us that he would make us 
a peculiar people, zealous of good works. The 
very thing we do not like is the very thing we want 
to-day. Elijah was the most peculiar man of his 
day, but he was worth more than all those one hun- 
dred thousand people around him. Enoch was the 
most peculiar man in his day. I suppose they 
all pointed to him and said, " Yes, yes, a good 
man, but very peculiar, — different from other peo- 
ple." Daniel was the most peculiar man Baby- 
lon ever had. If we could only have a few 
peculiar people now, we would see wonderful 
results. If God has a great work to do, he will 
call some peculiar man to do it. A man that 
sets his back on the world, and sets his face like 
a flint towards heaven, is a man that is peculiar, 
and God can use him and speak through him. — 
" Glad Tidings." 




much afraid of that. We 



292 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 25. 



For if there be first a willing mind, it is ac- 
cepted according to that a man hath, and not 
according to that he hath not. — 2 Cor. 8 : 12. 

Despise Not Small Things. 

GO to work. Let God use you. If he could 
use an old, dried-up rod in the hands of 
Moses, can't he use you ? If he could use old 
rams' horns before Jericho, or the jawbone of an 
ass in the hands of Samson, or the little stone 
in the sling of David, can't he use you ? Be 
zealous of good works. Be used of God. What- 
ever is done for God cannot be small. When 
the widow put her mite in the box at the temple, 
if there were any Jerusalem reporters around 
picking up items, they would n't have thought that 
worthy of a paragraph ; but they would have been 
sure to tell about rich Mrs. Levi and her gift of 
$1,000, to the extent of half a column with big 
head-lines. Yet the smaller gift was the larger. 
Every one has heard about the widow's mite ; 
and mite societies must have brought in millions 
of dollars to the church. The trouble is, too 
many men sneak behind the widow's mite. A 
rich man, to whom I once applied for a contribu- 
tion, said, while handing me a dollar, " Well, I 
will give the widow's mite." u Will you?" said 
I, " then I'll take all you've got. That's what 
she gave." Despise not the day of small things. 
Mary's memorial is known around the earth to- 
day. " She hath done what she could." — " Ten 
Days with Moody." 



2 93 



SEPTEMBER 26. 



Moody. 



If thou turn away thy foot from the sab- 
bath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; 
and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the 
Lord, honorable ; and shalt honor him. not doing 
thine own ways, nor rinding thine own pleasure, 
nor speaking thine own words : then shalt thou 
delight thyself in the Lord ; and I will cause 
thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, 
and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy 
father. — ISA. 58:13,14. 

Sabbath=breaking. 

THERE has been an awful letting down in 
this country regarding the Sabbath, and 
many a man, like Samson, has been shorn of his 
power, because he is not straight on the Sabbath 
question. I honestly believe this commandment 
is just as binding to-day as it ever was. It will 
be the ruin of this nation if we give up the Sab- 
bath. Men seem to think they have a right to 
change the holy day into a holiday. There are 
three great temptations to Sabbath-breaking : 
First, the trolley-car, that will take you off into the 
country for a nickel to have a day of recreation ; 
second, the bicycle, which is making a good many 
Christian men give up their Sabbath, and spend 
the day in going off on excursions ; third, the 
Sunday newspapers. You want power, do you ? 
You want Holy Ghost power? You want the 
dew of heaven falling on your brow ? You want 
to see men convicted and converted ? I don't 
believe we shall ever have genuine conversion 
until we get straight on this great law of God. — 
Northfield Echoes. 



294 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 27. 



Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ■ — 
Exod. 20 : 8. 

How Shall We Spend the Sabbath? 

MAKE the Sabbath a day of religious activ- 
ity. " Sabbath " means " rest," but " rest " 
does not mean idleness. No man enjoys idleness 
for any length of time. First of all, of course, is 
the attendance at public worship. " There is a 
discrepancy," says John McNeill, "between our 
creed about the Sabbath day and our actual con- 
duct." In many families, at ten o'clock on Sun- 
day, attendance on church is still an open question. 
There is no open question on Monday morning, 
— " John, shall you go to work to-day ? ". . . We 
must not think the Sabbath is just for the sake 
of being able to attend meetings. The num- 
ber of services attended ought to be measured 
by the person's ability to enjoy them and get 
good out of them without being wearied. . . . 
Apart from public and family observance of the 
Sabbath, each one ought to devote a portion of 
the time to his own edification. Prayer, medita- 
tion, reading, ought not to be forgotten. Think 
of men devoting six days a week to their body, 
which will soon pass away, and begrudging one 
day to the soul, which will live on and on for- 
ever ! 

If your circumstances permit, engage in some 
definite Christian work, — such as teaching in 
Sunday-school or visiting the sick. Do all the 
good you can. Sin keeps no Sabbath. There 
is plenty of opportunity in this fallen world to 
perform works of mercy and religion. — The 
Golden Rule. 

295 



SEPTEMBER 28. 



Moody. 



The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord 
thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work. — 
Exod. 20 : 10. 

Works Lawful on the Sabbath. 

THE Sabbath is the day when the body may 
be refreshed and strengthened after six 
days of labor, and the soul drawn into closer 
fellowship with its Maker. A man ought to turn 
aside from his own ordinary occupations one day 
in seven, and avoid all merely secular work. 

In judging whether work may be lawfully done 
on the Sabbath, find out the reason for it. Excep- 
tions are to be made for works of necessity and 
emergency. By " works of necessity " I mean 
those acts which Christ justified when he ap- 
proved of leading one's ox or ass to water. . . . 
By " works of emergency " I mean those referred 
to by Christ when he approved of pulling an ox 
or an ass out of a pit on the Sabbath day. In 
case of fire or sickness a man is often called to 
do things that would not otherwise be justifi- 
able. . . . 

We should avoid extremes in keeping the 
Sabbath. On one hand we find a rigor that is 
nowhere commanded in Scripture, and that re- 
minds one more of the formalism of the Pharisees 
than of the spirit of the gospel. On the other 
hand we should jealously guard against a loose 
way of keeping the Sabbath. Already in many 
cities the day is openly profaned. God ordained 
the Sabbath that men might have time to wor- 
ship him ; but how often do we rob him of the 
day ! — The Golden Rule. 

296 



Moody. 



SEPTEMBER 29. 



Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
God in vain ; for the Lord will not hold him 
guiltless that taketh his name in vain. — Exod. 
20 : 7. 

Taking God's Name in Vain. 



touching upon this commandment, because 
none of you swear. I was greatly amazed, not 
long ago, in talking to a man who was quite ac- 
tive in Christian work, to find that once in 
a while, when he got angry, he would swear. I 
said : " My friend, I don't see how you can tear 
down with one hand what you are trying to build 
up with the other. I don't see how you can pro- 
fess to be a child of God, and let these words 
come out of your lips." He said, " If you knew 
me, you could understand. I have a very quick 
temper; I inherited it from my father and 
mother, and it is uncontrollable ; but my swear- 
ing comes only from the lips." When God said, 
" I will not hold the man guiltless that takes my 
name in vain," he meant what he said, and I 
don't believe any man can be a true child of 
God, who takes the name of God in vain. What 
is the grace of God for, if it is not to give me 
control of my temper so that I may not lose con- 
trol of myself and bring down the curse of God 
upon me ? I believe that when a man is born of 
God, God takes the "swear" out of him. Let 
the heart be right and the lips will be right. — 
Northfield Echoes. 




some of you think it is no use 



297 



SEPTEMBER 30. 



Moody. 



When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the 
heathen do : for they think that they shall be 
heard for their much speaking. — Matt. 6:7. 

Taking Part in Public Prayers. 



ing. Bible prayers are nearly all short. 
Christ's prayers in public were short. When, 
he was alone with God, it was a different thing, 
and he could spend whole nights in communion. 
Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple 
is one of the longest recorded, and yet it takes 
only six or eight minutes in delivery. " Lord, 
help me " ; " Lord, remember me when thou 
comest into thy kingdom " ; " Lord, save us ; we 
perish " ; — such are the prayers that never failed 
to bring an answer. The prayer that our Saviour 
left his disciples is a model in its brevity, its rec- 
ognition of God, and the desire for the glory of 
his kingdom, its sense of dependence on him for 
daily needs, and for deliverance from the guilt 
and power of sin. 

Be definite. Beware of vagueness. Beware of 
praying about everything that can possibly be 
touched upon. Beware of falling into ruts. Mr. 
Spurgeon said some men's prayers are like a 
restaurant bill of fare, — ditto, ditto, ditto. I be- 
lieve in definite prayer. Abraham prayed for 
Sodom. Moses interceded for the children of 
Israel. How often our prayers go all around the 
world, without real, definite asking for anything ! 
And often, when we do ask, we don't expect any- 
thing. Many people would be surprised if God 
did answer their prayer. — The Golden Rule. 




heard for our much speak- 



298 



OCTOBER 

WITH 

HENRY DRUMMOND. 




HENRY DRUMMOND. 

October. 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER I. 



For as the rain cometh down, and the snow 
from heaven, and returneth not thither, but wa- 
tereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and 
bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread 
to the eater : so shall my word be that goeth 
forth out of my mouth : it shall not return unto 
me void, but it shall accomplish that which I 
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto 
I sent it. — Isa. 55 : 10, 11. 



An Invitation. 

HOW many of you will join me in reading 
the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians 
once a week for the next three months ? A man 
did that once, and it changed his whole life. 
Will you do it? It is for the greatest thing in 
the world. You might begin by reading it every 
day, especially the verses which describe the per- 
fect character. " Love suffereth long, and is 
kind ; love envieth not ; love vaunteth not itself." 
Get these ingredients into your life. Then every- 
thing that you do is eternal. It is worth doing. 
It is worth giving time to. No man can become 
a saint in his sleep ; and to fulfil the condition 
required demands a certain amount of prayer 
and meditation and time, just as improvement 
in any direction, bodily or mental, requires prep- 
aration and care. — " The Greatest Thing in 
the World." 



301 



OCTOBER 2. 



Drummond. 



My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O 
Lord ; in the morning will I . . . look up. — Ps. 
5 : 3. And all the people came early in the morn- 
ing to him. — Luke 21 : 38. 



The Early Morning Vision. 

TEN minutes spent in Christ's society every 
day, ay, two minutes, if it be face to face 
and heart to heart, will make the whole day dif- 
ferent. Every character has an inward spring ; 
let Christ be it. Be under his influence more 
than under any other influence. Yesterday you 
got a certain letter. You sat down and wrote a 
reply that almost scorched the paper. You picked 
the crudest adjectives you knew, and sent it forth, 
without a pang, to do its ruthless work. . . . You 
did that because you began the day wrong. To- 
morrow, at daybreak, turn towards him, and even 
to your enemy the fashion of your countenance 
will be changed. Whatever you do, one thing 
you will find you could not do, — you could not 
write that letter. Your first impulse may be the 
same, your judgment may be unchanged, but if 
you try it, the ink will dry on your pen, and you 
will rise from your desk an unavenged, but a 
greater and more Christian, man. 

Throughout the whole day your actions, down 
to the last detail, will do homage to that early 
vision. — " The Changed Life." 



302 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 3. 



Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think 
ye have eternal life : and they are they which tes- 
tify of me. — John 5 : 39. 



Christ's Words. 

HOW do I know Shakespeare or Dante ? By 
communing with their words and thoughts. 
Many men know Dante better than their own 
fathers. He influences them more. As a spirit- 
ual presence he is more near to them, as a spiritual 
force more real. Is there any reason why a greater 
than Shakespeare or Dante, who also walked this 
earth, who left great words behind him, who has 
great works everywhere in the world now, should 
not also instruct, inspire, and mould the characters 
of men ? . . . Christ himself was a word, a word 
made flesh. Make his words flesh ; do them, live 
them, and you must live Christ. " He that keepeth 
my commandments , he it is that loveth me." Obey 
him and you must love him. Abide in him and 
you must obey him. Cultivate his friendship. 
Live after Christ, in his spirit as in his presence, 
and it is difficult to think what more you can 
do. — " The Changed Life." 



303 



OCTOBER 4. 



Drummond. 



We all, with unveiled face, reflecting as a mir- 
ror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into 
the same image from glory to glory, even as from 
the Lord the Spirit. — 2 Cor. 3 : 18. (R. V.) 



Reflecting Christ. 

IT is a law of influence that we become like those 
whom we habitually admire. . . . Who has not 
watched some old couple come down life's pil- 
grimage hand in hand, with such gentle trust and 
joy in one another that their very faces wore the 
selfsame look ? These were not two souls : it was 
a composite soul. Half a century's reflecting had 
told upon them ; they were changed into the same 
image. They had become alike because they ha- 
bitually admired. ... It was reserved for Paul 
to make the supreme application of the law of 
influence. He himself was a changed man ; he 
knew exactly what had done it ; it was Christ. 
On the Damascus road they met, and from that 
hour his life was absorbed in His. The effect 
could not but follow, — on words, on deeds, on 
career, on creed. He became like him whom he 
habitually loved. " So we all," he writes, " reflect- 
ing as a mirror the glory of Christ, are changed 
into the same image.". . . Here is the solution 
of the problem of sanctification in a sentence : 
Reflect the character of Christ, and you will 
become like Christ. — " The Changed Life." 



304 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 5. 



He that walketh with wise men shall be wise : 
but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. — 
Prov. 13 : 20. 



Becoming Like Our Associates. 

SINCE we are what we are by the impacts of 
those who surround us, those who surround 
themselves with the highest will be those who 
change into the highest. There are some men 
and women in whose company we are always at 
our best. While with them we cannot think mean 
thoughts or speak ungenerous words. Their mere 
presence is elevation, purity, sanctity. . . . Sup- 
pose even that influence prolonged through a 
month, a year, a lifetime, and what could not life 
become ? Here, even on the common plane of 
life, talking our language, walking our streets, 
working side by side, are sanctifiers of souls. . . . 
If to live with men, diluted to the millionth 
degree with the virtue of the Highest, can purify 
and exalt the nature, what bounds can be set to 
the influence of Christ ? To live with Socrates — 
with unveiled face — must have made one wise ; 
with Aristides, just ; Francis of Assisi must have 
made one gentle ; Savonarola, strong. But to 
have lived with Christ? To have lived with 
Christ must have made one like Christ; that is 
to say, a Christian. — "The Changed Life." 



3°5 



OCTOBER 6. 



Drummond. 



They took knowledge of them, that they had 
been with Jesus. — Acts 4 : 13. 



Being with Jesus. 

DURING Christ's lifetime a few raw, unspir- 
itual, uninspiring men were admitted to the 
inner circle of his friendship. A change began 
at once. Day by day we can almost see the dis- 
ciples grow. . . . Slowly the spell of his life 
deepens. Reach after reach of their nature is 
overtaken, thawed, subjugated, sanctified. Their 
manners soften, their words become more gentle, 
their conduct more unselfish. They do not know 
how it is, but they are different men. One day 
they find themselves, like their Master, going 
about doing good. To themselves it is unac- 
countable, but they cannot do otherwise. They 
were not told to do it, it came to them to do it. 
But the people who watch them know well how to 
account for it. " They have been with Jesus," they 
whisper, " with Jesus." Already even the mark 
and seal of his character is upon them. " They 
have been with Jesus." Unparalleled phenome- 
non, that these poor fishermen should remind 
other men of Christ ! Stupendous victory and 
mystery of regeneration that mortal men should 
suggest to the world God! — " The Changed 
Life." 



306 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 7. 



Whom having not seen, ye love ; in whom, 
though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye 
rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. — ■ 
1 Pet. 1:8. 

Loving the Unseen Christ. 

IT was easy for the first disciples to be influ- 
enced by Christ, for they were every day and 
all the day together. ... It would have been an 
ineffable experience truly to have lived at that 
time, " when Jesus was here among men." And 
yet if Christ were to come into the world again, 
few of us probably would ever have a chance of 
seeing him. Millions of her subjects, in this lit- 
tle country, have never seen their own queen. 
And there would be millions of Christians who 
could never get within speaking distance of him 
if he were here. Our companionship with him 
is a spiritual communion. It was after he was 
risen that he influenced even the disciples most. 
Hence it is no real obstacle that we have never 
been in visible contact with himself. 

There lived once a young girl whose perfect 
grace of character was the wonder of those who 
knew her. She wore on her neck a gold locket 
which no one was ever allowed to open. One 
day, in a moment of unusual confidence, one of 
her companions was allowed to touch its spring 
and learn its secret. She saw written these 
words : " Whom having not seen, I love." That 
was the secret of her beautiful life. — " The 
Changed Life." 

3°7 



OCTOBER 8. 



Drummond. 



For the love of Christ constraineth us. — 2 
Cor. 5 : 14. 



HE following are the words of one of the 



X highest intellects this age has known, a 
man who shared the burdens of his country as 
few have done, and who, not in the shadows of 
old age, but in the high noon of his success, gave 
this confession to the world : " For more than 
twenty-five years I have instinctively gone to 
Christ to draw a measure and a rule for every- 
thing. I have sought to throw myself into the 
companionship of Christ ; and early, by my imag- 
ination, I could see him standing and looking qui- 
etly and lovingly upon me. There seemed almost 
to drop from his face an influence upon me that 
suggested what was the right thing in the control- 
ling of passion, in the subduing of pride, in the 
overcoming of selfishness. . . . My sense of sin 
is never strong when I think of law ; my sense of 
sin is strong when I think of love. It is when 
drawing near the Lord Jesus Christ, and longing 
to be loved, that I have the most vivid sense of 
imperfection, of absolute unworthiness, and of my 
sinfulness. Character and conduct are never so 
vividly set before me as when in silence I bend 
in the presence of Christ, revealed not in wrath, 
but in love to me. I never so much long to be 
lovely, that I may be loved, as when I have this 
revelation of Christ before my mind." — " The 
Changed Life." 



A Testimony. 




308 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 9. 



Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. 
— Matt, 6 : 28. 



How to Grow. 

WHAT gives the particular point to this ob- 
ject-lesson from the lips of Jesus is, that 
he not only made the illustration, but made the 
lilies. It is like an inventor describing his own 
machine. He made the lilies and he made me — 
both on the same broad principle. Both together, 
man and flower, he planted deep in the providence 
of God ; but as men are dull at studying them- 
selves, he points them to this companion phenom- 
enon to teach us how to live a free and natural 
life, a life which God will unfold for us, without 
our anxiety, as he unfolds the flower. . . . Con- 
sider the lilies, how they grow — how without anx- 
iety or care the flower wakes into loveliness, how 
without weaving these leaves are woven, how 
without toiling these complex tissues spin them- 
selves, and how without any effort or friction the 
whole slowly came, ready-made from the loom of 
God in its more than Solomon-like glory. " So," 
he says, making the application beyond dispute, 
" you careworn, anxious men must grow. You, 
too, need take no thought for your life, what ye 
shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or what ye shall 
put on." — " Natural Law in the Spiritual 
World." 



309 



OCTOBER 10. 



Drummoxd. 



Now the God of peace . . . make you perfect 
in even* good work to do his will, working in you 
that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through 
Jesus Christ. — Heb. 13 : 20, 21. 



The Transforming Power. 

TV JO man can change himself. Throughout 
the New Testament you will find that 
wherever moral and spiritual transformations 
are described, the verbs are in the passive. 
But do not toss these words aside as if 
this passivity denied all human effort. What 
is implied for the soul here is no more than is 
elsewhere claimed for the body. In physiology 
the verbs describing the process of growth are 
in the passive. Growth is not voluntary : it 
takes place, it happens, it is wrought upon 
matter. So here, " Ye must be born again " — 
we cannot born ourselves. Be not conformed 
to this world, but be ye transformed — we are 
subjects to a transforming influence, we do not 
transform ourselves. Xot more certain is it that 
it is something outside the thermometer that pro- 
duces a change in the thermometer, than that it 
is something outside the soul of man that pro- 
duces a moral change upon him. That he must 
be susceptible to the change, that he must be a 
party to it, goes without saying : but that neither 
his aptitude nor his will can produce it, is equally 
certain. — "The Changed Life." 



310 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER II. 



Work out your own salvation with fear and 
trembling. — Phil. 2:12. 



Working Out Our Own Salvation. 

TO become like Christ is the only thing in 
the world worth caring for, the thing before 
which every ambition of man is folly, and all 
lower achievement vain. Those only who make 
this quest the supreme desire and passion of 
their lives can ever begin to hope to reach it. 
If it has seemed as though all depended on 
passivity, let me now assert, with conviction 
more intense, that all depends on activity. A 
religion of effortless adoration may be a religion 
for an angel, but never for a man. . . . Resolu- 
tion, effort, pain, self-crucifixion, agony — all these 
things already dismissed as futile in themselves 
must now be restored to office, and a tenfold 
responsibility laid upon them. For what is their 
office ? Nothing less than to move the vast 
inertia of the soul, and place it and keep it 
where the spiritual forces will act upon it. It 
is to rally the forces of the will. It is to uncover 
the face that is to look at Christ, and draw down 
the veil when unhallowed sights are near. . . . 
It is all man's work. It is all Christ's work. In 
practice it is both ; in theory it is both. But the 
wise man will say in practice, " It depends upon 
myself." — " The Changed Life." 



3" 



OCTOBER 12. 



Drummond. 



Being confident of this very thing, that he 
which hath begun a good work in you will per- 
form it until the day of Jesus Christ. — Phil. 
I : 6. 

Noiseless Growth. 

DO not think that nothing is happening 
because you do not see yourself grow, or 
hear the whirr of the machinery. All great 
things grow noiselessly. You can see a mush- 
room grow, but never a child. . . . The higher 
the structure, the slower the growth. The lowest 
forms of animal life develop in an hour ; the next 
above these reach maturity in a day ; those higher 
still take weeks or months to perfect ; but the few 
at the top demand the long experiment of years. 
If a child and an ape are born on the same day, 
the ape will be in full possession of its faculties 
and doing the active work of life, before the 
child has left its cradle. . . . Foundations which 
have to bear the weight of an eternal life must 
be surely laid. Character is to wear forever ; who 
will wonder or grudge that it cannot be developed 
in a day ? 

To await the growing of a soul, nevertheless, 
is an almost divine act of faith. How pardon- 
able, surely, the impatience of deformity with 
itself, of a consciously despicable character, 
standing before Christ, wondering, yearning, 
hungering to be like that. Yet one must trust 
the process fearlessly, and without misgiving. 
The "Lord the Spirit" will do his part — "The 
Changed Life." 



312 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 13. 



How shall we escape if we neglect so great 
salvation ? — Heb. 2 : 3. 



Neglect. 

TO neglect is to cut off the only possible 
chance of escape. From the very nature 
of salvation, it is plain that the only thing neces- 
sary to make it of no effect, is neglect. Hence 
the Bible could not fail to lay strong emphasis 
on a word so vital. It was not necessary for it 
to say, How shall we escape if we trample upon 
the great salvation, or doubt, or despise, or reject 
it? A man who has been poisoned only need 
neglect the antidote, and he will die. It makes 
no difference whether he dashes it on the ground, 
or pours it out of the window, or sets it down by 
his bedside, and stares at it all the time he is 
dying. He will die just the same, whether he 
destroys it in a passion, or coolly refuses to have 
anything to do with it. It may be mere care- 
lessness or apathy. Nevertheless, neglect is fatal. 
He cannot escape, because he will not. As a 
matter of fact probably more deaths, spiritually, 
are gradual dissolutions of the second class, 
rather than rash suicides of the first. — " Nat- 
ural Law in the Spiritual World." 



3i3 



OCTOBER 14. 



Drummond. 



Blessed are your eyes, for they see : and your 
ears, for they hear. — Matt. 13 : 16. 



Seeing Eyes and Hearing Ears. 

THERE is a sense of sight in the religious 
nature. Neglect this, leave it undevel- 
oped, and you will never miss it. You simply 
see nothing. But develop it, and you see God. 
And the line along which to develop it is known 
to us. Become pure in heart. The pure in 
heart shall see God. Here, then, is one open- 
ing for soul culture, — the avenue through purity 
of heart to the spiritual seeing of God. 

Then there is a sense of sound. Neglect this 
and leave it undeveloped, and you never miss it. 
You simply hear nothing. Develop it, and you 
hear God. And the line along which to develop 
it is known to us. Obey Christ. Become one 
of Christ's flock. " The sheep hear his voice, 
and he calleth them by name." Here, then, is 
another opportunity for the culture of the soul, — 
a gateway through the Shepherd's fold to hear 
the Shepherd's voice. — " Natural Law in the 
Spiritual World." 



3M 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 15. 



I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in 
the earth. . . . Take therefore the talent from 
him. — Matt. 25 : 25, 28. 

The Unused Talent. 

THERE are fishes that have had to pay a 
terrible forfeit for having their abode in 
dark caverns. Nature has taken her revenge 
upon them, — she has closed up their eyes. . . . 
If any man take his talent and hide it in a 
napkin, although it is doing him neither harm 
nor good, apparently, God will not allow him to 
have it. Although it is lying there rolled up in 
the darkness, not conspicuously affecting any 
one, still God will not allow him to keep it any 
more than nature would allow the fish to keep 
their eyes. ... In the parable the man's crime 
was simply neglect, — " thou wicked and slothful 
servant." It was a wasted life, — a life which 
failed in the holy stewardship of itself. Such a 
life is a peril to all who cross its path. ... It 
is significant to notice that it was the man who 
had only one talent who was guilty of neglecting 
it. . . . These who have abundant store sow 
with a lavish hand. Our temptation as ordinary 
men is not to sow at all. The interest on our 
talent would be so small that we excuse ourselves 
with the reflection that it is not worth while. It 
is those who belong to the rank and file of life 
who need this warning most. — " Natural Law 
in the Spiritual World." 



3i5 



OCTOBER 1 6. 



Drummond. 



He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the 
hungry soul with goodness. — Ps. 107 : 9. Ye 
will not come to me, that ye might have life. — 
John 5 : 40. 

Unsatisfied Longing. 

THE amount of spiritual longing in the world, 
— in the hearts of unnumbered thousands 
of men and women in whom we should never sus- 
pect it ; among the wise and thoughtful ; among 
the young and gay, who seldom assuage and 
never betray their thirst, — this is one of the most 
wonderful and touching facts of life. — " Pax 

VOBISCUM." 

" I protest that if some great power would 
agree to make me always think what is true and 
do what is right, on condition of being turned 
into a sort of clock and wound up every morning, 
I should instantly close with the offer." These 
are the words of Mr. Huxley. The man does 
not live from whose deeper being the same con- 
fession has not risen, or would not give his all 
to-morrow, if he could " close with the offer " of 
becoming a better man. . . . Without being 
"turned into a sort of a clock," the end can be 
attained. Under the right conditions it is as 
natural for character to become beautiful as for 
a flower ; and if on God's earth there was not 
some machinery for effecting it, the supreme 
gift to the world would have been forgotten. 
This is simply what man was made for. — " The 
Changed Life." 



316 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 17. 



Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest. — Matt, i i : 28. 



True Rest. 

TWO painters each painted a picture to illus- 
trate his conception of rest. The first 
chose for his scene a still, lone lake among the 
far-off mountains. The second threw on his 
canvas a thundering waterfall, with a fragile 
birch-tree bending over the foam ; at the fork of 
the branch, almost wet with the cataract's spray, 
a robin sat on its nest. The first was only Stag- 
nation ; the last was Rest. . . . Christ's life out- 
wardly was one of the most troubled lives that 
was ever lived ; tempest and tumult, tumult and 
tempest, the waves breaking over it all the time 
till the worn body was laid in the grave. But 
the inner life was a sea of glass. The great calm 
was always there. At any moment you might 
have gone to him and found rest. And even 
when the bloodhounds were dogging him in the 
streets of Jerusalem, he turned to his disciples 
and offered them, as a last legacy, " My peace." 
. . . Rest is not a hallowed feeling that comes 
over us in church, ... it is the repose of a 
heart set deep in God. It is the word of the 
man who says with Browning, " God's in his 
heaven, all's well with the world." — -"Pax Vo- 
biscum." 



317 



OCTOBER 1 8. 



Drummond. 



Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, 
. . . for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 
Matt, ii : 29, 30. 

Yokes. 

DID you ever stop to ask what a yoke is for ? 
Is it to be a burden to the animal that 
wears it ? It is just the opposite. It is to make 
its burden light. Attached to the oxen in any 
other way than by a yoke, the plough would be 
intolerable. Worked by means of a yoke, it is 
light. A yoke is not an instrument of torture ; 
it is an instrument of mercy. . . . And yet men 
speak of the yoke of Christ as if it were slavery, 
and look upon those who wear it as objects of 
compassion. . . . The mistake has arisen from 
taking the word " yoke " here in the same sense 
as in the expressions " under the yoke," or 
"wear the yoke in his youth." But in Christ's 
illustration it is not the jug am of the Roman 
soldier, but the simple " harness " or " ox-collar " 
of the Eastern peasant. . . . And what was the 
burden ? Not some special burden laid on the 
Christian, but simply human life, the general 
burden that all must carry from the cradle to the 
grave. . . . The weight of a load depends on 
the attraction of the earth. But suppose the 
attraction of the earth were removed ? A ton 
on some other planet, where the attraction of 
gravity is less, does not weigh half a ton. Now 
Christianity removes the attraction of the earth, 
and this is one way in which it diminishes men's 
burdens. — " Pax Vobiscum." 

318 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 19. 



These things have I spoken unto you, that my 
joy might remain in you, and that your joy might 
be full. — John 15 : 11. 

How to Obtain Joy. 

DID you ever think why Christ spoke the 
parable of the vine ? It was a communi- 
cation of his secret of happiness. . . . Fruit- 
bearing is the necessary antecedent of joy. It 
lies partly in the bearing fruit, partly in the fel- 
lowship that made that possible. Partly, that is 
to say, joy lies in the mere constant living in 
Christ's presence, with all that that implies of 
peace, of shelter, of love ; partly in the influence 
of that life upon the mind and character and 
will ; and partly in the inspiration to live and 
work for others with all that brings of self-rid- 
dance and joy in others' gain. . . . There is no 
mystery about happiness whatever. He that 
abideth in Him will bring forth much fruit ; and 
bringing forth much fruit is happiness. The 
infallible receipt for happiness, then, is to do 
good ; and the infallible receipt for doing good 
is to abide in Christ. . . . No one can get joy 
by merely asking for it. It is one of the ripest 
fruits of the Christian life, and like all fruits 
must be grown. Some have never planted one 
sound seed of joy in all their lives ; and others 
who may have planted a germ or two have lived 
so little in sunshine that they never could come 
to maturity. — " Pax Vobiscum." 



3*9 



OCTOBER 20. 



Drummond. 



But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness. — Matt. 6 : 33. 



" First!" 

SEEK the kingdom of God first First. Not 
many people do that. They put a little 
religion into their lives, — once a week, perhaps. 
They might just as well let it alone. It is not 
worth while seeking the kingdom of God unless 
we seek it first. Suppose you take the helm out 
of a ship and hang it over the bow, and send 
that ship to sea, will it ever reach the other side ? 
Certainly not. It will drift about somehow. 
Keep religion in its place, and it will take you 
straight through life, and straight to your Father 
in heaven when life is over. But if you do not 
put it in its place, you may just as well have 
nothing to do with it. Religion out of place in 
a human life is the most miserable thing in the 
world. There is nothing that requires to be kept 
in its place as religion, and its place is what? 
Second ? Third ? " First." Carry that home with 
you to-day, — first the kingdom of God. Make 
it so that it will be natural to you to think about 
that the very first thing. — " First ! " 



320 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 21. 



For the Son of man . . . gave to every man 
his work. — Mark 13 : 34. 

The Dignity of Labor. 

THREE-FOURTHS of our time is probably 
spent in work. Of course the meaning of 
this is that our work should be just as religious 
as our worship, and unless we can work for the 
glory of God three-fourths of life remains un- 
sanctified. The proof that work is religious is 
that most of Christ's life was spent in work. 
During a large part of the first thirty years of 
his life he worked with the hammer and the 
plane, making ploughs and yokes and household 
furniture. Christ's public ministry occupied only 
about two and a half years of his earthly life ; 
the great bulk of his time was simply spent in 
doing common, every-day tasks, and ever since 
then work has had a new meaning. When 
Christ came into the world, he was revealed to 
three deputations who went to meet and worship 
him. First came the shepherds, or working 
class ; second, the wise men, or the student 
class ; and third, the two old people in the 
temple, Simeon and Anna; — that is to say, 
Christ is revealed to men at their w r ork, at their 
books, at their worship. It was the old people 
who found Christ at their worship, and as we 
grow older we will spend more time exclusively 
in worship than we are able to do now. In the 
mean time we must combine our worship with our 
work, and we may expect to find Christ at our 
books and in our common tasks. — " Lessons 
from the Angelus," in Northfteld Echoes. 



321 



OCTOBER 22. 



Drummond. 



I COME to do thy will, O God. — Heb. io : 7. 

Doing God's Will. 

I WISH we could all get into our minds one 
principle, — What is the end of life ? The 
end of life is not to do good, although many of 
us think so. The end of life is to do the will 
of God. That may be in the line of doing good 
or winning souls, or it may not. For the individ- 
ual the answer to the question, " What is the end 
of my life ? " is, To do the will of God. whatever 
that may be. Spurgeon replied to an invitation 
to speak to an exceptionally large audience, " I 
have no ambition to preach to ten thousand 
people, but to do the will of God,"' and he de- 
clined. If we could say, " I have no ambition 
to go to the heathen. I have no ambition to win 
souls. — my ambition is to do the will of God, 
whatever that may be." it would make all lives 
equally great : because the only great thing in a 
life is what there is of God's will in it. 

The maximum achievement of any man's life, 
after it is all over, is to have done the will of 
God. Xo man or woman can have done any 
more with a life : no Luther, no Spurgeon. no 
Wesley, no Melanchthon, can have done any more 
with their lives ; and a dairy-maid or a scavenger 
can do as much. Therefore the supreme prin- 
ciple upon which we have to run our lives is to 
adhere, through good report and ill, through 
temptation and prosperity and adversity, to the 
will of God, wherever it may lead us. — " The 
Will of God.'' 



322 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 23. 



Teach me to do thy will. — Ps. 143 : 10. 

How to Know God's Will. 

HOW shall we find out God's will ? Let me 
give you this from the fly-leaf of my Testa- 
ment : First, pray. SecoJid, think. Third, talk 
to wise people, but don't regard their judgment 
as final. Fourth, beware of the objection of your 
own will, but don't be too much afraid of it. 
God never unnecessarily thwarts a man's nature 
and likings, — it is a mistake to think that his 
will is always in the line of the disagreeable. 
Fifth, meanwhile, do the next thing; for doing 
God's will in little things is the best preparation 
for doing it in great things. Sixth, when deci- 
sion and action are necessary, go ahead. Seventh, 
you will probably not find out till afterwards, per- 
haps long afterwards, that you have been led 
at all. Let me give you the outline of a little 
Bible-reading : The definition of an ideal life : 
" A man after mine own heart, who will fulfil all 
my law." The object of life : " I come to do thy 
will, O God." The first thing you need after life 
is food : " My meat is to do the will of him that 
sent me." The next thing you need after food 
is society : " He that doeth the will of my Father 
in heaven, the same is my brother and sister 
and mother." You want education : " Teach me 
to do thy will, O God." You want pleasure : 
" I delight to do thy will, O God." And when 
all is over, " He that doeth the will of God, 
abideth forever." — "The Will of God." 



3 2 3 



OCTOBER 24. 



Drummond. 



Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man 
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take 
up his cross, and follow me. — Matt. 16 : 24. 
And the disciples were called Christians first in 
Antioch. — Acts ii : 26. 



What is a Christian? 

I HEARD this definition, the other day, of a 
Christian man, by a cynic : "A Christian 
man is a man whose great aim in life is a self- 
ish desire to save his own soul, who, in order 
to do that, goes regularly to church, and whose 
supreme hope is to get to heaven when he 
dies.". . . If there is anything that a Christian is 
not, it is one who has a selfish desire to save his 
own soul. The one thing which Christianity tries 
to extirpate from a man's nature is selfishness. . . . 
There is one great character in the world that 
can really draw out all that is best in men. That 
man was the founder of Christianity. To be a 
Christian is to have that character for our ideal 
in life, to live under its influence, to do what he 
would wish us to do, to live the kind of life he 
would have lived in our house, and had our day's 
routine to go through. It would not, perhaps, 
alter the forms of our life, but it would alter the 
spirit and aims and motives of our life, and the 
Christian man is he who in that sense lives 
under the influence of Jesus. — "What is a 
Christian ? " 



3 2 4 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 25. 



Love suffereth long and is kind. — 1 Cor. 13 : 
4. Be ye kind one to another. — Eph. 4 : 32. 



Doing Good. 

HAVE you ever noticed how much of Christ's 
life was spent in doing kind things — in 
merely doing kind things ? Run it over with that 
in view, and you will find that he spent a great 
proportion of his time simply in making people 
happy, in doing good turns to people. There is 
only one thing greater than happiness in the 
world, and that is holiness ; and it is not in our 
keeping; but what God has put in our power 
is the happiness of those about us, and that is 
largely to be secured by our being kind to them. 
" The greatest thing," says some one, " a man can 
do for his heavenly Father is to be kind to some 
of his other children." I wonder why it is that 
we are not all kinder than we are. How much 
the world needs it ! How easily it is done ! . . . 
There is a difference between trying to please 
and giving pleasure. Give pleasure. Lose no 
chance of giving pleasure. "I shall pass through 
this world but once. Any good thing therefore 
that I can do, or any kindness that I can show 
to any human being, let me do it now. Let me 
not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass 
this way again." — " The Greatest Thing in 
the World." 



3 2 5 



OCTOBER 26. 



Drummond. 



Beloved, let us love one another : for love is 
of God. — 1 John 4 : 7. 

Loving One Another. 

WHERE love is, God is. He that dwelleth 
in love, dwelleth in God. God is love. 
Therefore love. Without distinction, without cal- 
culation, without procrastination, love. Lavish it 
upon the poor, where it is easy ; especially upon 
the rich, who often need it most ; most of all 
upon our equals, where it is very difficult, and 
for whom, perhaps, we do least of all. ... I 
have seen almost all the beautiful things God 
has made ; I have enjoyed almost every pleasure 
that he has planned for man ; and yet, as I look 
back, I see standing out above all the life that has 
gone, four or five short experiences when the 
love of God reflected itself in some poor imitation, 
some small act of love of mine, and these seem 
to be the things which alone, of all one's life, 
abide. Everything else in all our lives is transi- 
tory. But the acts of love which no man knows 
about, or can ever know about, — they never fail. 
. . . The withholding of love is the proof that 
we never knew Christ, that for us he lived in 
vain. It means that — 

" I lived for myself, I thought for myself, 
For myself and none beside — 
Just as if Jesus had never lived, 
As if he had never died." 
— "The Greatest Thing in the World." 



326 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 27. 



Love worketh no ill to his neighbor : therefore 
love is the fulfilling of the law. — Rom. 13:10. 



Fulfilling the Law. 

IF you love, you will unconsciously fulfil the 
whole law. And you can readily see for 
yourselves how that must be so. Take any of 
the commandments. " Thou shalt have no other 
gods before me." If a man love God, you will 
not require to tell him that. " Take not his 
name in vain." Would he ever dream of taking 
his name in vain if he loved him ? " Remember 
the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Would he not 
be too glad to have one day in seven to dedicate 
more exclusively to the object of his affection ? 
Love would fulfil all these laws regarding God. 

And so if he loved man, you would never think 
of telling him to honor his father and mother. 
He could do nothing else. It would be prepos- 
terous to tell him not to kill. You would only 
insult him if you suggest that he should not steal, 
— how could he steal from those whom he loved ? 
It would be superfluous to beg him not to bear 
false witness against his neighbor. If he loved 
him, it would be the last thing he would do. And 
you would never dream of urging him not to covet 
what his neighbors had. He would rather they 
possessed it than himself. . . . This is Christ's 
one secret of the Christian life. — " The Great- 
est Thing in the World." 



3 2 7 



OCTOBER 28. 



Drummond. 



Love envieth not ; love vaunteth not itself, is 
not puffed up. — 1 Cor. 13:4. 



Two Fruits of Love. 

" T OVE envieth not." Whenever you attempt 
\ j a good work you will find other men do- 
ing the same kind of work, and probably doing it 
better. Envy them not. Envy is a feeling of 
ill will to those who are in the same line as our- 
selves, a spirit of covetousness and detraction. 
How little Christian work even is a protection 
against un-Christian feeling ! The most despicable 
of all unworthy moods which crowd a Christian's 
soul assuredly waits for us on the threshold of 
every work, unless we are fortified with this grace 
of magnanimity. Only one thing truly need the 
Christian envy, — the large, rich, generous soul 
that " envieth not." And then, after having 
learned all that, you have to learn this further 
thing, humility, — to put a seal upon your lips 
and forget what you have done. After you have 
been kind, after love has stolen forth into the 
world and done its beautiful work, go back into 
the shade again and say nothing about it. Love 
hides even from itself. Love waives even self- 
satisfaction. " Love vaunteth not itself, is not 
puffed up." — "The Greatest Thing in the 
World." 



328 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 29. 



Be courteous. — 1 Pet. 3 : 8. Love doth not 
behave itself unseemly. — 1 Cor. 13 : 5. 



Christian Courtesy. 

POLITENESS has been defined as love in 
trifles. Courtesy is said to be love in little 
things. The one secret of politeness is love. 
Love cannot behave itself unseemly. You can 
put the most untutored persons into the highest 
society, and if they have a reservoir of love in 
their heart, they will not behave themselves un- 
seemly. They simply cannot do it. Carlyle 
said of Robert Burns that there was no truer gen- 
tleman in Europe than the ploughman-poet. It 
was because he loved everything, — the mouse 
and the daisy, and all the things great and small 
that God had made. So with this simple pass- 
port he could mingle with any society, and enter 
courts and palaces from his little cottage on the 
banks of the Ayr. You know the meaning of 
the word "gentleman." It means a gentle man, 
— a man who does things gently with love. And 
that is the whole art and mystery of it. The gentle 
man cannot in the nature of things do an ungentle, 
an ungentlemanly thing. The ungentle soul, the 
inconsiderate, unsympathetic nature, cannot do 
anything else. — " The Greatest Thing in 
the World." 



3 2 9 



OCTOBER 30. 



Drummoxd. 



Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
speaketh. — Matt. 12 : 34. 



Bad Tempers. 

WE are inclined to look upon bad temper 
as a very harmless weakness. We speak 
of it as a mere infirmity of nature, a family failing, 
a matter of temperament. And yet . . . no form 
of vice, not worldliness, nor greed of gold, not 
drunkenness itself, does more to un-Christianize 
society than evil temper. For embittering life, 
for breaking up communities, for destroying the 
most sacred relationships, for devastating homes, 
for withering up men and women, for taking the 
bloom of childhood, in short, for sheer gratuitous 
misery-producing power, this influence stands 
alone. ... In dealing with temper, we must go 
to the source, and change the inmost nature, and 
the angry humors will die away of themselves. 
Souls are made sweet, not by taking the acid 
fluids out, but by putting something in, — a great 
love, a new spirit, the Spirit of Christ. Christ, the 
Spirit of Christ, interpenetrating ours, sweetens, 
purifies, transforms all. . . . Will-power does not 
change men. Time does not change men. Christ 
does. Therefore, ki Let that mind be in you which 
was also in Christ Jesus." Some of us have not 
much time to lose. This is a matter of life or 
death. — " The Greatest Thing in the World." 



33° 



Drummond. 



OCTOBER 31. 



Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedi- 
ence by the things which he suffered. — Heb. 5 : 8. 



Practising Love. 

IS not life full of opportunities for learning 
love ? Every man and woman every day has 
a thousand of them. The world is not a play- 
ground ; it is a schoolroom. What makes a man 
a good cricketer ? Practice. What makes a man a 
good artist, a good sculptor, a good musician ? 
Practice. What makes a man a good linguist, 
a good stenographer ? Practice. Nothing else. 
What makes a man a good man ? Practice. . . . 
If a man does not exercise his arm, he develops 
no biceps muscle ; if a man does not exercise his 
soul, he acquires no muscle in his soul, no strength 
of character, no vigor of moral fibre, nor beauty of 
spiritual love. 

What was Christ doing in the carpenter shop ? 
Practising. Though perfect, we read that he 
learned obedience, and grew in wisdom, and in 
favor with God and man. Do not quarrel with 
your lot in life. Do not complain of its never- 
ceasing cares, its petty environment, the vexa- 
tions you have to stand, the small and sordid 
souls you have to live and work with. That is 
your practice, — the practice God appoints you ; 
and it is having its work in making you patient 
and humble and generous and unselfish and kind 
and courteous. — " The Greatest Thing in the 
World." 



33i 



NOVEMBER 

WITH 

OLD-TIME SAINTS. 



November. 



WILLIAM CAREY. 



Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667). NOVEMBER I. 



Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither 
shall I flee from thy presence ? — Ps. 139 : 7. 

The Practice of the Presence of God. 

TE walks as in the presence of God who 



J[ J[ converses with him in frequent prayer and 
communion ; that runs to him in all his necessi- 
ties ; that asks counsel of him in all his doubtings ; 
that opens all his wants to him ; that weeps before 
him for his sins ; that asks remedy and support 
for all his weakness; that fears him as a judge, 
reverences him as a lord, obeys him as a father, 
and loves him as a patron. ... In your retire- 
ment place thyself in God's presence, and behold 
him with the eye of faith ; and let thy desires 
actually fix on him, as the object of thy worship, 
and the reason of thy hope, and the fountain of 
thy blessing. For when thou hast placed thyself 
before him, and kneelest in his presence, it is most 
likely all the following parts of thy devotion will 
be answerable to the wisdom of such an appre- 
hension, and the glory of such a presence. . . . 
Every return of the heart in these intercourses is 
a going to God, an appearing in his presence, 
and a representing him present to thy spirit. 
And this was long since by a spiritual person 
called "a building to God a chapel in our heart." 
... In the midst of the works of your trade, you 
may retire into your chapel, your heart ; and con- 
verse with God by frequent addresses and returns. 
— " Holy Living and Dying," Sec. III. The 
Third General Instrument of Holy Living ; or the 
Practice of the Presence of God. 




333 



NOVEMBER 2. Robert Hall (1764-1831). 



For who is this that engaged his heart to ap- 
proach unto me ? saith the Lord. — Jer. 30 : 21. 

Our Engagedness of Heart in Approaching 
unto God. 

WE may consider the passage before us as 
highly expressive of the true manner in 
which the service of God must be undertaken if we 
would render it acceptable to him, or useful to us. 

Among the heathen it was usual to form a 
conjecture of the good or the ill success of the 
application to their deities, from the state in 
which the entrails of the offered victims were 
found ; and nothing was considered a more fatal 
omen than its wanting a heart. Their worship, 
we are well aware, was folly and delusion ; but in 
this instance it may serve to illustrate the subject 
before us, which is, the absolute necessity of the 
heart being engaged in religion. . . . 

This implies a preparation of heart for religious 
duties. Ezra " prepared his heart to seek the law 
of the Lord and to do it," to disengage his mind 
from vain imaginations, from worldly thoughts, 
from everything, in short, foreign to the spirit of 
religion. By a diligent perusal of a portion of 
the Word of God, we are prepared to approach 
him ; by hearing him when he speaks to us, we 
are fitted to speak to him. He who rushes into 
the presence of the Most High without solemn 
deliberation, without reflecting on the weighty 
and serious nature of such an undertaking, can 
with little propriety be said to have " engaged 
his heart." — " Complete Works of the Rev. 
Robert Hall, A. M." 



336 



Christmas Evans (17 7 6-1838). NOVEMBER 3. 



How much more shall the blood of Christ, 
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself 
without spot to God, purge your conscience from 
dead works to serve the living God ? — Heb. 9 : 14. 

Purification of Conscience. 

WE cannot " serve the living God " with- 
out this preparatory purification of con- 
science. If our guilt is uncancelled, — if the 
love of sin is not dethroned, — the service of the 
knee and the lip is hypocrisy. " If we regard 
iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us." 
Cherishing what he hates, all our offerings are 
an abomination to him ; and we can no more 
stand in his holy presence than the dry stubble 
can stand before a flaming fire. He who has an 
evil conscience flees from the face of God, as did 
Adam in the garden. Nothing but the blood of 
Christ, applied by the Holy Spirit, can remove 
the sinner's guilty fear, and enable him to draw 
nigh to God in the humble confidence of accep- 
tance through the Beloved. 

The service of the living God must flow from 
a new principle of life in the soul. The divine 
Word must be the rule of our actions. The 
divine will must be consulted and obeyed. We 
must remember that God is holy and jealous of 
his honor. The consideration that he is every- 
where and sees everything, and. will bring every 
work into judgment, must fill us with reverence 
and godly fear. — " Life and Sermons of 
Christmas Evans." 



337 



NOVEMBER 4. David Brainerd (17 18-1747). 



A devout man, and one that feared God, . . . 
and prayed to God always. — Acts 10:2. 

Extracts from Brainerd' s Journal. 

LORD'S DA Y 9 April 25. — This morning I 
spent about two hours in secret duties ; 
was enabled to agonize for human souls. 
June jo. — Spent this day alone in the woods 
in fasting and prayer. . . . Spent almost the 
whole day in prayer incessantly. 

Jan. J. — . . . I find that I do not, and it 
seems I cannot, lead a Christian life when I 
am abroad, and cannot spend time in devotion, 
Christian conversation, and serious meditation, 
as I should do. Those weeks that I am obliged 
now to be from home, in order to learn the In- 
dian tongue, are mostly spent in perplexity and 
barrenness, without much sweet relish of divine 
things ; and I feel myself a stranger at the 
throne of grace for want of more frequent and 
continued retirement. When I return home 
and give myself to meditation, prayer, and fast- 
ing, a new scene opens to my mind. 

June 28. — Spent the morning in reading sev- 
eral parts of the Holy Scripture, and in fervent 
prayer for my Indians. About nine I withdrew 
to my usual place in the woods, and there en- 
joyed some assistance in prayer. 

Dec. ig. — Spent a great part of the day in 
prayer to God for the outpouring of his Spirit on 
my poor people. ... And blessed be God. I 
had much freedom, five or six times in the day, 
in prayer and praise. — Edwards's " Life of 
Brainerd." 



338 



John Flavel (1627-1691). NOVEMBER 5. 



I will come in to him, and will sup with him, 
and he with me. — Rev. 3 : 20. 

The Excellency of Communion with God. 

THIS is the excellency of communion with 
God, to make the soul like him. There is 
a twofold assimilation or conformity of the soul 
to God, the one perfect and complete, the other 
imperfect and in part. Perfect assimilation is 
the privilege of the perfect state, resulting from 
the immediate vision and perfect communion the 
soul has with God in glory. " When he shall 
appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see 
him as he is." Perfect vision produces perfect 
assimilation ; but the soul's imperfect conformity 
to God in this world is wrought and gradually 
carried on by daily communion with him. And 
as our communion with God here grows up more 
and more into spirituality and power, so, in an 
answerable degree, does our conformity to him 
advance. " But we all with open face beholding 
as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed 
into the same image from glory to glory, as by 
the Spirit of the Lord." All sorts of commun- 
ion among men have an assimilating efficacy ; 
he that walks in vain company is vainer than he 
was before ; and he that walks in spiritual, heav- 
enly company, will be more serious than before. 
But nothing so transforms the spirit of a man 
as communion with God. Those are most like 
God that converse most frequently with him. — 
" Christ Knocking at the Door." 



339 



NOVEMBER 6. Jonathan Edwards (i 703-1 758). 



The water that I shall give him shall be in him 
a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 
— John 4 : 14, 

" Christ Liveth in Me," 

THE Spirit of God is given to all true saints 
to dwell in them, as his proper lasting 
abode ; and to influence their hearts as a princi- 
ple of new nature, or as a divine supernatural 
spring of life and action. The Scriptures rep- 
resent the Holy Spirit not only as moving and 
occasionally influencing the saints, but as dwell- 
ing in them as his temple, his proper abode and 
everlasting dwelling-place. 

So the saints are said to live by Christ living 
in them. Christ by his Spirit not only is in them, 
but lives in them ; so that they live by his life ; 
so is his Spirit united to them as a principle of 
life in them ; they do not only drink living water, 
but this " living water becomes a well or fountain 
of water " in the soul, " springing up into spirit- 
ual and everlasting life.". . . The light of the 
Sun of righteousness does not only shine upon 
them, but is so communicated to them that they 
shine also, and become little images of that Sun 
which shines upon them ; the sap of the true 
vine is not only conveyed into them as the sap 
of a tree may be conveyed into a vessel, but is 
conveyed as sap is from a tree into one of its 
living branches. The Spirit of God being thus 
communicated and united to the saints, they are 
from thence properly denominated from it, and 
are called spiritual — " A Treatise Concern- 
ing Religious Affections." 



340 



George Whitefield (i 714- 1 77 o). NOVEMBER 7. 



Search the scriptures ; for in them ye think ye 
have eternal life : and they are they which testify 
of me. — John 5 : 39. 

Search the Scriptures. 

QiE ARCH the Scriptures as a person digs for a 
4J mine, or searches for some hidden treasure. 

The word " Bible," or " book," is well applied 
to the Holy Scriptures, because it is the book of 
God, written by him ; that is, by his order, and by 
those who were inspired by him for that end ; 
and yet, of all the writings in the world, these 
are the most neglected ! God has condescended 
to become an author, and yet people will not 
read his writings. There are very few that ever 
gave this book of God, the grand charter of sal- 
vation, one fair reading through ; though we pro- 
fess to have assented to the truth of the Scripture, 
as our Lord said, in than we think we have eternal 
life, yet most read them as they would a procla- 
mation, a romance, a play, or novels, that help 
only to bring them to the devil, but choose not 
to read God's book, which is to be our guide to 
glory ; they are they, says Christ, which testify of 
me. Lord God, convert and change our heart. 

However, this was spoken only in reference to 
the Old Testament, and certainly shows us that 
Christ is the hid treasure in that field; yet as 
there are equal proofs of the divinity of the New 
Testament, the word " Holy Scriptures " includes 
both. — " Memoirs of Whitefield." 



34i 



NOVEMBER 8. 



Isaac Watts (167 4-1 7 48). 



Pray without ceasing. — 1 Thess. 5:17. 

Praying Always. 

DIRECTION 5. Maintain always a praying 
frame* a temper of mind ready to converse 
with God. This will be one way to keep all 
praying graces ever ready for exercise. Visit 
him therefore often and upon all occasions, with 
whom you would obtain some immediate com- 
munion at solemn seasons of devotion, and make 
the work of prayer your delight, nor rest satisfied 
till you find pleasure in it. 

What advantages and opportunities soever you 
enjoy for social prayer, do not neglect praying in 
secret ; at least once a day constrain the busi- 
ness of life, to give you leave to say something 
to God alone. 

Take frequent occasion in the midst of your 
duties in the world to lift up your heart to God. 
He is ready to hear a sudden sentence, and 
will answer the breathing of a holy soul towards 
himself, in the short intervals or spaces betwixt 
your daily affairs. Thus you may pray without 
ceasing, as the apostle directs, and your graces 
may ever be lively. Whereas, if you only make 
your addresses to God in the morning or even- 
ing, and forget him all the day. your heart will 
grow indifferent in worship, and you will only 
pay a salutation with your lips and your knees, 
and fulfil the talk with dull formality. — "A 
Guide to Prayer." 



342 



Martin Luther (1483-1546). NOVEMBER 9. 



Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be 
opened unto you. — Matt. 7:7. 

Importunity in Prayer. 

OHOW great a thing, how marvellous, a 
godly Christian's prayer is ! How powerful 
with God. . . . Upright Christians pray without 
ceasing ; though they pray not always with their 
mouths, yet their hearts pray continually, sleep- 
ing and waking ; for the sigh of a true Christian 
is prayer. . . . None can believe how powerful 
prayer is, and what it is able to effect, but those 
who have learned it by experience. It is a great 
matter, when in extreme need, to take hold on 
prayer. I know whenever I have earnestly 
prayed, I have been amply heard, and have 
obtained more than I prayed for; God, indeed, 
sometimes delayed, but at last he came. . . . 
God often, as it were, hides himself, and will not 
hear; yea, will not suffer himself to be found. 
Then must we seek him ; that is, we must con- 
tinue in prayer. When we seek him, he often 
locks himself up, as it were, in a private cham- 
ber ; if we intend to come in unto him, then we 
must knock, and when we have knocked once or 
twice, then he begins a little to hear. At last, 
when we make much knocking, then he opens 
and says, " What will ye have?" " Lord," say 
we, " we would have this or that." " Then," says 
he, " take it unto you." In such sort, we must 
persist in praying and waken God up. — " Table 
Talk of Martin Luther." 



343 



NOVEMBER 10. John Newton (1725-1807). 



As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is 
the man that wandereth from his place. — Prov. 
27:8. 

On Attending One's Own Church. 

CHOOSE for your stated pastor . . . one 
whom you are likely to hear with most 
pleasure and advantage. Entreat the Lord, who 
knows better than you do yourself, to guide you 
where your soul may be best fed ; and when your 
choice is fixed, you will do well to make a point 
of attending his ministry constantly ; I mean at 
least at the stated times of worship on the Lord's 
day. I do not say that no circumstance will 
justify your going elsewhere at such times occa- 
sionally ; but I think the seldomer you are ab- 
sent, the better. . . . Especially, I would not 
wish you to be absent for the sake of gratifying 
your curiosity to hear some new preacher, who 
you have, perhaps, been told is a very extraordi- 
nary man. . . . Unsettled hearers seldom thrive ; 
they usually grow wise in their own conceits ; 
they have their heads filled with notions ; acquire 
a dry, critical, censorious spirit ; and are more 
intent upon disputing who is the best preacher 
than upon obtaining benefit to themselves from 
what they hear. If you could find a man, in- 
deed, who had a power, in himself, of dispensing 
a blessing to your soul, you might follow him 
from place to place ; but as the blessing is in the 
Lord's hands, you will be more likely to receive 
it by waiting where his providence has placed 
you, and where he has met with you before. — 
" The Select Works of the Rev. John New- 
ton," Vol. I. 

344 



Richard Baxter (1615-1691). NOVEMBER 11. 



Set your affections on things above. — Col. 



Seeking Blessings in Religious Duties. 

NDEAVOR in every duty to raise thy affec- 



tions nearer to heaven. . . . Come then, 
kneel down in secret or public prayer, with hope 
to get thy heart nearer to God before thou risest 
up. When thou openest thy Bible, or other book, 
hope to meet with some passage of divine truth, 
and such blessing of the Spirit with it, as will 
give thee a fuller taste of heaven. When thou 
art going to the house of God, say, " I hope to 
meet with somewhat from God to raise my affec- 
tions before I return ; I hope the Spirit will give 
me his presence, and sweeten my heart with those 
celestial delights. I hope Christ will " appear to 
me in that way, and shine about me with light 
from heaven.". . . When the Indians first saw 
that the English could converse together by let- 
ters, they thought there was some spirit enclosed 
in them. So would bystanders admire, when 
Christians have communion with God in duties, 
what there is in those Scriptures, in that ser- 
mon, in this prayer, that fills their hearts so full 
of joy and so transports them above themselves. 
Certainly God would not fail us in our duties if 
we did not fail ourselves. Remember, therefore, 
always to pray for your minister, that God would 
put some divine message into his mouth, which 
may leave a heavenly relish upon your spirit. — 
"The Saint's Everlasting Rest." 



3:2. 




345 



NOVEMBER 12. Thomas Fuller (i 608-1661). 



Bless me, even me also. — Gen. 27 : 34. But 
there remained two of the men in the camp, the 
name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the 
other Medad : and the spirit rested upon them. — 
Num. 11 : 26. 



The Prayer of One Kept Away from God's 
House. 

LORD, thy servants are now praying in the 
church, and I am here staying at home, de- 
tained by necessary occasions, such as are not of 
my seeking, but of thy sending ; my care could 
not prevent them, my power could not remove 
them. Wherefore, though I cannot go to church, 
there to sit down at table with the rest of thy 
guests, be pleased, Lord, to send me a dish of 
their meat hither, and feed my soul with holy 
thoughts. Eldad and Medad, though staying 
still in the camp (no doubt on just cause), yet 
prophesied as well as the other elders. Though 
they went not out to the spirit, the spirit came 
hence to them. Thus never any dutiful child 
lost his legacy for being absent at the making of 
his father's will, if at the same time he were em- 
ployed about his father's business." I fear too 
many at church have their bodies there, and their 
minds at home. Behold in exchange, my body 
here and heart there. Though I cannot pray 
with them, I pray for them. Yea, this comforts 
me, I am with thy congregation, because I would 
be with it. — " Good Thoughts in Bad Times." 



346 



Matthew Henry (1662-17 14). NOVEMBER 13. 



Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the 
faith ; prove your own selves. — 2 Cor. 13 : 5. 

Self=examination. 

THE affections are the pulse of the soul. If 
we would know its state, we must observe 
how that pulse beats. How do I stand affected 
to sin ? Do I dread it as most dangerous, loathe 
it as most odious, and complain of it as most 
grievous ? Or do I make light of it ? Which 
lies the heavier, the burden of sin, or the burden 
of affliction ; and of which am I the most desirous 
to be relieved ? What do I think of Christ ? 
Do I love him and prize him as the fairest among 
ten thousand ? Or hath he in mine eyes no form 
nor comeliness, and is he no more than another 
beloved ? How do I stand affected to the word 
and ordinances ? Are God's tabernacles amiable 
to me, or are they despicable ? Am I in God's 
service, as in my element, as one that calls it a 
delight? Or am I in it as under confinement, as 
one that calls it drudgery ? How do I stand af- 
fected to good people ? Do I love the image of 
Christ wherever I see it, though it be in rags, or 
though not in my own color ? Do I honor them 
that fear the Lord, and choose his people for my 
people in all conditions ? Or do I prefer the 
gayeties of the world before the beauties of holi- 
ness ? How do I stand affected to this world ? 
Is it under my feet, where it should be ; or in my 
heart, where Christ should be ? By such inquiries 
we may come to know our own selves. — " Com- 
municant's Companion." 



347 



NOVEMBER 14. Rowland Hill (17 44-1 833). 



Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind. — Luke 10 : 27. 

A Divided Heart. 

IT is a most awful thing to have a divided 
heart. Had we ten thousand hearts to give, 
they would be less than the excellent Majesty 
deserves. Take care of a divided heart ; keep 
up a sharp and perpetual contest. I am God's 
by creation, by preservation, by redemption, and 
sanctification. Paul says, " I pray God. your 
whole body, soul, and spirit " (what have we 
else ?) " may be preserved blameless." 

A half-way profession is perfectly prohibited 
by the Word of God. Thanks be to God for 
those who are decided. The world expects noth- 
ing from you ; if they have given you up, all the 
better. . . . Some are in a happy state ; they 
live high, they are spiritually minded. God occu- 
pies their minds; they live in heavenly places. 
God so send you into this paradise, that you may 
have too far to go to coalesce with the world ! 

What shall I do with people who are half for 
Baal, and half for God ? They know- so much of 
religion that they are spoiled for the world ; such 
can't go clean into the world as others can. They 
don't go very often to a playhouse, — only now 
and then, as a rarity. God keep me from the 
devil's rarities ! What a mercy to be wholly ded- 
icated to God ! I defy any to be too much 
dedicated, or to get too far from the world. — 
" Select Thoughts ox Religious Subjects." 



348 



Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847). NOVEMBER 15. 



This is the covenant that I will make with 
them after those days, saith the Lord ; I will put 
my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will 
I write them. — Heb. 10 : 16. 

Prayer for True Obedience. 



NTER with me, O God, into that better 



j v covenant, which is established on better 
promises. It is still our part to keep thy holy 
commandments, but it is graciously thine to put 
these commandments into our hearts, and to write 
them in our minds, nay, thyself to walk in us and 
dwell in us, — not only enjoining, but enabling 
and disposing us to do thy will, and crowning 
all with this blessed declaration, — that our sins 
and our iniquities thou wilt remember no more. 
What thou didst at one time grave on tables of 
stone, and hast graven on the tablets of an out- 
ward revelation, do thou now grave on the 
fleshly tablets of my heart. . . . 

Be thou throned in supremacy over all my af- 
fections ; and let not other gods, the idols of an 
earthly affection, lord it over me. Spiritualize the 
whole of my obedience. . . . O my God, I bring 
my heart, I submit it, I make it over to thee. 
Take it such as it is, and make it such as it should 
be. Surely if I am willing to be sanctified, and 
thou art willing to sanctify, there can be no let or 
obstacle in the way of my reunion with God. . . . 
Incline me to walk not in some ways only, but in 
all the ways which the Lord my God hath com- 
manded. Let mine be an unreserved and un- 
excepted obedience. — Chalmers's " Scripture 
Sabbath Readings." 




349 



NOVEMBER 1 6. 



Fenelon (1651-1715). 



Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 
— Matt. 6 : 10. 



HE kingdom of God which is within us con- 



sists in our willing whatever God wills, 
always, in everything, and without reservation ; 
and thus his kingdom comes ; for his will is then 
done as it is in heaven, since we will nothing but 
what is dictated by his sovereign pleasure. . . . 
If we sincerely loved the will of God, and only 
this, we should change our earth into a heaven. 
We should thank God for everything, — for evil 
as well as good from his hand. O my God, what 
do I see in the course of the stars, in the revolu- 
tions of the seasons, in the events of life, but the 
accomplishment of thy will ! May it also be ac- 
complished in me and may I love it ! May it 
sweeten and endear all events to me ! May 
I annihilate my own, to make thy will reign in 
me ! For it is thine to will and mine to obey ! . . . 
Blessed are they who are stripped of everything, 
even their own wills, that they may no longer be- 
long to themselves. . . . Happy are they indeed 
who can bear their sufferings in simple peace and 
perfect acquiescence in the will of God. 

O Lord, take my heart, for I cannot give it; 
and when thou hast it, O, keep it, for I cannot 
keep it for thee ; and save me in spite of myself, 
for Jesus Christ's sake. 



Doing God's Will. 




35° 



William Carey (1761-1834). NOVEMBER 17. 



Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel 
to every creature. — Mark 16 : 15. 

The Great Commission. 

OUR Lord Jesus Christ, a little before his 
departure, commissioned his apostles to 
Go, and teach all nations, or as another evangelist 
expresses it, Go into all the world and preach the 
gospel to every creature. This commission was as 
extensive as possible, and laid them under obli- 
gation to disperse themselves into every country 
of the habitable globe, and preach to all the in- 
habitants, without exception or limitation. . . . 
It seems as if many thought the commission was 
sufficiently put in execution by what the apostles 
have done ; that we have enough to do to attend 
to the salvation of our own countrymen ; and that 
if God intends the salvation of the heathen, he 
will some way or other bring them to the gospel, 
or the gospel to them. It is thus that multitudes 
sit at ease, and give themselves no concern about 
the far greater part of their fellow sinners, who to 
this day are left in ignorance and idolatry. . . . 
All Christians ought heartily to concur with God 
in promoting his glorious designs. . . . Many can 
do nothing but pray ; . . . but we must not be 
contented, however, with prayer, without exerting 
ourselves in the use of means for the obtaining of 
those things we pray for. ... If persons were to 
devote a portion, suppose a tenth, of their annual 
increase to the Lord, . . . there would not only 
be enough to support the ministry of the gospel 
at home . . . but to defray the expenses of carry- 
ing it into the heathen world. 



35* 



NOVEMBER 1 8. Cotton Mather (1663-1729). 



Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give 
the tenth unto thee. — Gen. 28 : 22. 

On Giving a Tenth. 

THE main question is,- What proportion of a 
man's yearly income is to be devoted to 
pious uses? And now let it not seem a "hard 
saying " if I tell you that a te?ith part is the least 
that you can bring under a solemn dedication to 
the Lord, for whom in one sense we are to lay 
out our all. A farthing less would make an en- 
lightened and considerate Christian suspicious of 
his incurring the danger of sacrilege. . . . Since 
there is a part of every man's revenues due to the 
glorious Lord, and to purposes of piety, it is not 
fit that the determination of what pa?'t it must be 
should be left to such hearts as ours. ... If the 
Lord himself, to whom thou art but a steward, 
has fixed on any part of our usual income for 
himself, certainly a tenth will be found the least 
that he has called for. ... It is but reasonable 
that the great God who with a seventh day is 
owned as Creator, should with a tenth part be 
acknowledged as the possessor of all things. . . . 
But let the demand of " liberal things " grow upon 
you; a tenth I have called the least; for some' 
it is much too little. Men of large incomes, who 
would not " sow to the flesh, and of the flesh reap 
corruption," may, and often will, go beyond this 
proportion. Some rise to a fifth, and the relig- 
ious Countess of Warwick would not stop at any- 
thing short of a third. — " Essays to Do Good." 



John Angell James (i 785-1859). NOVEMBER 19. 



Godliness is profitable unto all things, having 
promise of the life that now is, and of that which 
is to come. — 1 Tim. 4 : 8. 

Religion Promotes Our Secular Interests. 

I DO not pretend that piety bears into the 
church the cornucopia of worldly wealth, to 
pour down showers of gold on all who court her 
smiles and bend to her sway ; but still there is a 
striking tendency in her influence, to improve our 
worldly circumstances. 

It certainly prevents those vices which tend to 
poverty. Penury is often the effect of vice. How 
many have hurled themselves and their families 
from the pinnacles of prosperity to the depths of 
adversity, by a course of wicked and profligate ex- 
travagance ! Multitudes have spent all their sub- 
stance, like the prodigal son, upon riotous living. 
Pride has ruined thousands, and indolence its 
tens of thousands. It is an observation of Frank- 
lin, " that one vice costs more to keep than two 
children." Religion is the most economical, and 
sin the most expensive, thing in the world. How 
much do the drunkard, debauchee, Sabbath- 
breaker, and frequenters of theatres, pay for their 
sinful gratification ! 

And then it not only prevents the vices which 
tend to poverty, but enjoins a?id cherishes the vir- 
tues which lead to prosperity. It makes a man 
industrious ; is not this the way to wealth ? It 
renders him sober ; does not that tend to advance 
our fortune ? It enforces a right improvement of 
time ; surely this is advantageous to every one. 
It prescribes frugality, which tends to increase. 



353 



NOVEMBER 20. August Neander (1789-1850). 



Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good sol- 
dier of Jesus Christ. — 2 Tim. 2 : 3. 

The Christian Life a Warfare. 

AS the whole life of the Christian is a con- 
flict with the world and the powers of dark- 
ness, a conflict within and without, the kingdom of 
God in this world must appear as militant, and 
must make its way by conflict ; so that often in 
the Holy Writ the calling of the Christian is 
compared to that of military life, and the Chris- 
tian is represented as the soldier of his Lord. 
This image was very clear and familiar to the 
first Christians. . . . To this the beautiful words 
refer in the epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp : 
" Strive to please him in whose service you are 
fighting, for from him you will receive the pay. 
Let none of you prove deserters." Augustine 
frequently makes beautiful use of the same com- 
parison. . . . He says in a sermon : " Compare 
thyself with a soldier ; when thou art standing in 
the sendee, bearing the mark of thy commander, 
thou canst with full confidence perform thy ser- 
vice. But when thou bearest it out of service, the 
mark will not only be of no use for the service, 
but thou wilt be punished as a deserter. . . . 
Tertullian writes, when exhorting Christians 
to steadfastness under persecution : " Even in 
peace soldiers learn by labor and heavy tasks 
to endure war, since they are always under arms, 
perform their exercise in the open field, and dig 
trenches. Therefore, ye blessed ones, regard all 
your hardships as exercise for your powers of 
body." — " Memorials of Christian Life in 
the Early and Middle Ages." 



354 



John Bunyan (1628-1688). NOVEMBER 21. 



Do not ye after their works : for they say, and 
do not. — Matt. 23 : 3. 



Talkative of Prating Row. 

CHRISTIAN. — He is known to all that are 
acquainted with him as Talkative, of Prat- 
ing Row; and, notwithstanding his fine tongue, 
he is a sorry fellow. . . . He talketh of prayer, 
of repentance, of faith, and of the new birth ; but 
he knows only to talk of them. I have been in 
his family, and have observed him both at home 
and abroad ; and I know what I say of him is the 
truth. His house is as empty of religion as the 
white of an egg is of savor. There is neither 
prayer, nor sign of repentance for sin ; yea, the 
brute, in his kind, serves God better than he. He 
is the very stain, reproach, and shame of religion 
to all that know him ; it can hardly have a good 
word in all that end of the town where he dwells, 
through him. Thus say the common people that 
know him, " A saint abroad, and a devil at home." 
His poor family finds it so; he is such a churl, 
such a railer at, and so unreasonable with, his ser- 
vants, that they neither know how to do for or 
speak to him. Men that have any dealings with 
him say it is better to deal with a Turk than with 
him, for fairer dealings they shall have at their 
hands. This Talkative, if it be possible, will go 
beyond them, defraud, beguile, and overreach 
them. — " Pilgrim's Progress." 



355 



NOVEMBER 22. Haxxah More (1745-1833). 



I was afraid, . . . and hid thy talent in the 
earth. . . . His lord answered and said unto 
him, Thou wicked and slothful servant. — Matt. 



One=taIented People. 

HE most insignificant people must not 



± through indolence and selfishness under- 
value their own influence. Most persons have a 
little circle of which they are a sort of centre. 
Its smallness may lessen their quantity of good, 
but does not diminish the duty of using that little 
influence wisely. Where is the human being so 
inconsiderable but that he may in some shape 
benefit others, either by calling their virtues into 
exercise, or by setting them an example of virtue 
himself ? But we are humble just in the wrong 
place. When the exhibition of our talents or 
splendid qualities is in question, we are not back- 
ward in the display. When a little self-denial is 
to be exercised, when a little good might be ef- 
fected by our example, by our discreet manage- 
ment in company, by giving a better turn to the 
conversation, then at once we grow wickedly 
modest — " Such an insignificant creature as I 
can do no good" — " Had I a higher rank or 
brighter talents, then indeed my influence might 
be exerted to some purpose." Thus under the 
mask of diffidence we justify our indolence, and 
let slip those lesser occasions of promoting relig- 
ion which, if we all improved, how much might 
the condition of society be raised ! — " Practical 
Piety." 




C. H.Von Bogatzky (1690-1774). NOVEMBER 23. 



Thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the de- 
sire of every living thing. — Ps. 145 : 16. 

Trusting God for Daily Bread. 

WHO considers these words with sufficient 
care, and practically draws from them 
the right conclusions ? The hand of God being 
my chief provision and storehouse, is it not a 
shame to be anxiously careful for anything ? 
Has the Lord all things in his hand? Then 
surely I shall receive what he has for me ; none 
will be able to withhold it. Faith has always a 
free access to the treasures of God, who is never 
wanting. Christians, says Luther, have their 
treasure in such a high place, even in God, that 
no thief can rob them ; and they are sure to have 
enough in God. Though the Lord should try 
them with want for a little while, yet he relieves 
them in due season ; their bread shall fall from 
heaven rather than they shall be left without it. 
" You need not," says Christ, " seek these other 
things ; they shall be brought to you, if you only 
abide in me." If this does not comfort and 
strengthen us, nothing else will. Many rely on 
their ample worldly stores ; but, if they had true 
faith, this would be their confidence and joy, that 
God has engaged to supply all their need. If 
the Lord is pleased to bestow on his servants 
any expression of his bounty, they are thankful; 
but if he withholds what they ask for, they learn 
cheerfully to submit. — Bogatzky's " Golden 
Treasury." 



357 



NOVEMBER 24. Philip Doddridge (1702-175 i). 



Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, 
neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labor of 
the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no 
meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, 
and there shall be no herd in the stalls : yet I will 
rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my 
salvation. — Hab. 3: 17, 18. 

The Impoverished Saint Rejoicing in God. 



V^/ circumstance is here supposed, and how 
heroic a faith is expressed. . . . You see, he 
puts the sad case of having neither fruit nor corn 
nor flesh ; ... so that it is really as though he 
said, " Though I should be reduced to so great 
extremity as not to know where to find my neces- 
sary food, though I should look round about me 
on an empty house and a desolate field, and see 
the marks of the divine scourge where I had 
once seen the fruits of God's bounty, yet I will 
7-ejoice in the Lord!". . . Methinks these words 
are worthy of being written as with a diamond on 
a rock forever. O that by divine grace they 
might be deeply engraven on each of our hearts ! 
Concise as the form of speaking in the text is, it 
evidently implies or expresses the following par- 
ticulars : that in the day of his distress he 
would fly to God ; that he would maintain a holy 
composure of spirit under this dark dispensation; 
nay, that in the midst of all he would indulge in 
a sacred joy in God, and a cheerful expectation 
from him. Heroic confidence ! Illustrious faith ! 
Unconquerable love ! — " Sermons by Dr. Dod- 
dridge," Vol. I. 




entreat you, how calamitous a 



358 



S. Rutherford (1600-1661). NOVEMBER 25. 



I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. — 
2 Cor. 7 : 4. 

Glorying in Tribulation. 

OWHAT I owe to the file, to the hammer, 
to the furnace of my Lord Jesus, who hath 
now let me see how much good the wheat of 
Christ is that goeth through his mill, and his 
oven, to be made bread for his own table. . . . 
Who knoweth the grace of truth without a trial ? 
O, how little Christ getteth of us, but that which 
he winneth with much toil and pains ! And how 
soon faith would freeze without a cross ! How 
many dumb crosses have been laid upon my 
back, that never had a tongue to speak the sweet- 
ness of Christ ! When Christ blesseth his own 
crosses with a tongue, they breathe out his love, 
wisdom, kindness, and care of us. . . . You have 
heard of my trouble, I suppose. Albeit this hon- 
est cross gained some ground on me, . . . yet 
now, for the encouragement of you all, I dare 
say it, I dare write it under my own hand, " Wel- 
come, welcome, sweet, sweet cross of Christ." I 
verily think that the chains of my Lord Jesus are 
all overlaid with pure gold, and that his cross is 
perfumed, and that it smelleth of Christ. 

Dear brother, weary not of my sweet Master's 
chains • we are all so much sibber 1 to Christ 
that we suffer. Lodge not a hard thought of my 
royal King; rejoice in his cross. Wait on for 
God's timous 2 salvation ; ask not when, or how 
long. I hope we shall lose nothing of you in the 
furnace but dross. — " Rutherford's Letters." 

1 More nearly related. 2 Seasonable. 



359 



NOVEMBER 26. E. H. Bickersteth (1825-). 



Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose 
mind is stayed on thee. — Isa. 26 : 3. And the 
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, 
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ 
Jesus. — Phil. 4: 7. And let the peace of God 
rule in your hearts. — Col. 3:15. 



Peace. 

PEACE, perfect peace in this dark world of sin; 
The blood of Jesus whispers peace within. 

Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed ; 
To do the will of Jesus, — this is rest. 

Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round ; 
On Jesus' bosom naught but calm is found. 

Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away ; 
In Jesus' keeping we are safe, and they. 

Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown ; 
Jesus we know, and he is on the throne. 

Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours; 
Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers. 

It is enough ; earth's struggles soon shall cease, 
And Jesus calls us to heaven's perfect peace. 



360 



James Meikle (1730-1799). NOVEMBER 27. 



There is no fear in love ; but perfect love 
casteth out fear : because fear hath torment. — 
1 John 4 : 18. 

Four Things to Fear. 

j^OUR things I should fear : God, myself, 



Jl^ temptation, and sin. I should fear God 
for his greatness ; self for its infirmity ; tempta- 
tion for its danger ; and sin for its defilement. 
I should fear God with love; myself with cau- 
tion ; sin with hatred ; temptation with resolu- 
tion. The fear of God will take away the fear 
of man ; the fear of self will moderate the love of 
self ; the fear of sin will make watchful against 
sin ; the fear of temptation will be an antidote 
against temptation. My fear of God should be 
constant with cheerfulness ; of self, constant with 
trembling ; of sin, constant with watchfulness ; 
and of temptation, constant with vigilance. . . . 
The fear of sin shall fly away, when I am made 
perfect in holiness, and pass into glory ; the fear 
of self shall cease, when self is put off, and God 
is all in all ; the fear of temptation, when Satan 
is trodden under my feet ; but the fear of God 
shall endure forever ; only the panic is removed, 
when love is made perfect, and casteth out fear ; 
for the fear of saints, struggling with a body of 
sin and death, hath torment with it ; but there is 
no torment in the fear of the seraphic hosts, who, 
with the profoundest awe and reverence before 
the throne, cover their faces with their wings. — 
" Solitude Sweetened." 




361 



NOVEMBER 28. Thomas a Kempis (1379-147 i). 



There hath no temptation taken you but such 
as is common to man : but God is faithful, who 
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye 
are able ; but will with the temptation also make 
a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 
— 1 Cor. 10 : 13. 



O man is so perfect and holy but he hath 



altogether without them. Nevertheless tempta- 
tions are often very profitable to us, though they 
be troublesome and grievous ; for in them a man 
is humbled, purified, and instructed. . . . Yet 
we must be watchful, especially in the beginning 
of the temptation ; for the enemy is then more 
easily overcome, if he be not suffered to enter the 
door of our hearts, but be resisted at the very 
gate on his first knocking. For first there com- 
eth to the mind a bare thought of evil, then a 
strong imagination thereof, afterwards delight 
and evil motive, and then consent. And so by 
little and little our wicked enemy getteth com- 
plete entrance, for that he is not resisted in the 
beginning. And the longer a man is negligent 
in resisting, the weaker does he become daily in 
himself, and the stronger the enemy against him. 
. . . We ought not to despair when we are 
tempted, but so much the more fervently to pray 
unto God that he will vouchsafe us help in all our 
tribulations ; for he will surely, according to the 
words of Saint Paul, make with the temptation 
a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it. 
. . . Some are kept from great temptations, and 
in the small ones which do daily occur are often 
overcome. — " Imitation of Christ." 



Of Resisting Temptations. 




temptations, and we cannot be 



362 



Sir Matthew Hale (1609-1676). NOVEMBER 29. 



Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father. 
— Prov. 4:1. 

Some Good Advice. 

NEVER speak anything for a truth which 
you know or believe to be false. Lying is 
a great sin against God, who gave us a tongue to 
speak the truth and not falsehood. . . . Never 
utter any profane speeches, nor make a jest of 
any Scripture expressions. When you pronounce 
the name of God or Christ, or repeat any words 
of the Holy Scriptures, do it with reverence and 
seriousness, and not lightly, for that is "taking 
the name of God in vain.". . . Begin and end 
the day with private prayer ; read the Scriptures 
often and seriously ; be attentive to the public 
worship of God. Keep yourselves in some use- 
ful employment; for idleness is the nursery of 
vain and sinful thoughts, which corrupt the mind 
and disorder the life. Be kind and loving one to 
another. Honor your minister. Be not harsh 
or unkind to my servants. Be respectful to all. 
Bear my absence patiently and cheerfully. Be- 
have as if I were present among you and saw 
you. Remember you have a greater Father than 
I am, who always and in all places beholds you, 
and knows your hearts and thoughts. Be frugal in 
my family, but let there be no want ; and provide 
conveniently for the poor. I pray God to fill 
your hearts with his grace, fear, and love, and to 
let you see the advantages of serving him. — Ex- 
tracts from Sir Matthew Hale's Letter to 
His Children. 



3 6 3 



NOVEMBER 30. James Hervey (17 14-1758). 



The heavens declare the glory of God ; and 
the firmament showeth his handiwork. — Ps. 19 : 
1. All thy works shall praise thee. O Lord ; and 
thy saints shall bless thee. — Ps. 145 : 10. 

God Glorified in His Works. 

CAN there be a more powerful incentive to 
devout gratitude than to consider the mag- 
nificent and delicate scenes of the universe with 
a particular reference to Christ as the Creator ? 
Every object, viewed in this light, will surely 
administer incessant recruits to the languishing 
lamp of divine love. Every production in nature 
will strike a spark into the soul, and the whole 
creation concur to raise the smoking flax into a 
flame. 

Can anything impart a stronger joy to the 
believer, or more effectually confirm his faith in 
the crucified Jesus, than to behold the heavens 
declaring his glory, and the firmament showing 
his handiwork? Surely it must be matter of 
inexpressible consolation to the poor sinner, to 
observe the honors of his Redeemer, written 
with sunbeams, over all the face of the world. 

We delight to read an account of the incarnate 
Jehovah, as he is revealed in the book of Moses 
and the prophets, as he is displayed in the writ- 
ings of the evangelists and apostles. Let us also 
endeavor to see a sketch of his perfections 
as they stand delineated in that stately volume 
w 7 here every leaf is a spacious plain : every line, 
a flowing brook ; every period, a lofty mountain. 
— Hervey's " Meditations and Contempla- 
tions." 



3 6 4 



DECEMBER 

WITH 

THEODORE L. CUYLER. 




December. 



REV. T. L. CUYLER. 



ClJYLER. 



DECEMBER I. 



In the morning will I direct my prayer unto 
thee, and will look up. — Ps. 5 : 3. 

Beginning the Day with God. 

^VERY day should be commenced with God 



1 v and upon the knees. He begins the day 
unwisely who leaves his chamber without a secret 
conference with his heavenly Friend. The true 
Christian goes to his closet both for his panoply 
and his " rations " for the day's march and its 
inevitable conflicts. As the Oriental traveller 
sets out for the sultry journey by loading up his 
camel under the palm-tree's shade, and by filling 
his flagons from the cool fountain that sparkles 
at its roots, so doth God's wayfarer draw his 
fresh supplies from the unexhausted spring. 
Morning is the golden time for devotion. The 
mercies of the night provoke to thankfulness. 
The buoyant heart, that is in love with God, 
makes its earliest flight, like the lark, to- 
wards the gates of heaven. Gratitude, faith, 
dependent trust, all prompt to early interviews 
with Him who, never slumbering himself, waits 
on his throne for our morning orisons. We all 
remember Bunyan's beautiful description of his 
Pilgrim's lodging over night in the " Chamber of 
Peace," which looked towards the sunrising, and 
at daybreak he " awoke and sang." If stony 
Egyptian " Memnon " made music when the first 
rays kindled on his flinty brow, a devout heart 
should not be mute when God causes the outgo- 
ings of his mornings to rejoice. No pressure of 
business or household duties should crowd out 
prayer. — "Stirring the Eagle's Nest." 




367 



1 



DECEMBER 2. Cuyler. 



Thy words were found, and I did eat them ; 
and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing 
of mine heart. — Jer. 15 : 16. 

Living on the Word of God. 

SOME Christians die of starvation. They sur- 
feit the inner man with secular stimulants 
of all sorts, — with spiced books of fiction and 
" light reading." Many swallow little else than 
their daily newspaper. Now all athletic Chris- 
tians — all those that carry heavy loads, do 
thorough work, and stand a long pull — are hun- 
gry feeders on God's Book. Nothing will im- 
part sinew and muscle to your piety like the 
thorough study and digestion of your Bible. A 
good sermon must be digested, or it will be of 
little use to you ; and your daily bread of the 
Bible must go through the same process. . . . 
One strong Bible text lodged in the memory, and 
turned over and over, and well digested, will be 
a breakfast for your soul, and in the strength of 
it you will go through the whole day. . . . Every 
servant of Jesus Christ must recruit his or her 
strength by reading Christ's words, and thinking 
about them, by meditation, by prayer, and soul 
converse with God. Martin Luther, in the thick 
of his campaigns with the Pope and the devil, 
said that he could not get on without two good 
hours each day for his private devotions. I have 
always observed that light readers and light 
thinkers make light Christians, and those who 
neglect their Bibles and their closets soon 
dwindle into dwarfs. Having no depth of root, 
their religion withers away. — " Stirring the 
Eagle's Nest." 



368 



ClJYLER. 



DECEMBER 3. 



Strive to enter in at the strait gate. — Luke 
13:24. 

Entering the Strait Gate. 

THERE may be millions in hell who once 
promised themselves that they would at 
some time become Christians. " Strive to enter 
in at the strait gate ! " said Jesus Christ. It was 
to be no child's play. If there be one reading 
this who honestly desires this new and noble 
life, I would say to him or her, There are many 
things to hold you back. The evil one does not 
go out of human hearts in these days any more 
willingly than he did in the olden Bible times, 
and only at the bidding of Christ. Pray ear- 
nestly to Christ for deliverance. The world has 
got its grip on you. Perhaps your intimate asso- 
ciates are unfriendly to religion ; they may stare 
at you, or sneer at your exchanging a frolic for 
a prayer meeting. Moral cowardice has cheated 
millions out of heaven. Good resolutions made 
in your own strength are mere pipe-clay. 

You are not a Christian until you have given 
your heart to Jesus Christ. You must begin to keep 
his commandments, to resist sin because he hates 
it, and to do right because he loves it. Quench 
not the Spirit ! Just begin to serve Christ by 
doing the first duty that comes to your hand. 
Refuse to do the first wrong thing to which you 
are tempted ; and do this with fervent prayer for 
divine help. " Strive to enter in at the strait 
gate : for many will seek to enter in, and shall 
not be able when once the master of the house 
is risen up and hath shut to the door," — The 
Independent, 

3 6 9 



DECEMBER 4. 



CUYLER. 



Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, 
which leadeth unto life. — Matt. 7 : 14. 

The Narrow Gateway. 

WHY is this gateway to Christian life called 
" narrow " ? Did Christ mean to say 
that his power or his pity or his love were lim- 
ited ? No, indeed ; for nothing under heaven 
could be more unlimited than his gracious, lov- 
ing invitation, " Whosoever will, let him come." 
He simply meant that his gate was " strait " or 
narrow because it did not allow perfect latitude 
of opinion, or utter laxity of conduct. Favorite 
sins and self-indulgences are contraband at that 
strait gateway. Pride cannot drive through with 
its coach and four ; sensuality cannot smuggle in 
its harlots, or its hampers of strong drink; the 
worldling cannot bring in his worship of Mam- 
mon, or the covetous man his greed of lucre ; and 
no self-righteous sinner is permitted to stalk in 
and assert that he has no need of the righteous- 
ness of Jesus Christ. 

Hallelujahs and endless thanksgivings to God 
that the entrance to the true Christian life is just 
what it is ! At the gate we are to give up, 
and ever afterward we are to take up. At that 
gate we are commanded to crucify that accursed 
house-devil, self, that we may have room in our 
hearts for Christ and for our fellow men. While 
the broad road leads down to death, the narrow 
gate leadeth unto life, — to largeness of life, and 
loftiness of aim, and genuine joys. It brings 
pardon and peace of mind, and fellowship with 
Jesus Christ. The man who enters the narrow 
gate is broade)ied. — The Independent. 



370 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 5. 



Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord 
in a perpetual covenant that shall not be for- 
gotten. — Jer. 50 : 5. 

Joining the Lord Jesus. 

GENUINE conversion unites your heart in 
clinging faith to the Friend of sinners. 
When you take the step of confessing your 
faith before men, you literally and truly join the 
Lord, You join your weakness to his strength ; 
you join your ignorance to his wisdom, your un- 
worthiness to his merits, your frailty to his en- 
during might, and your poverty to his boundless 
wealth. The fair peasant girl who married the 
emperor of Russia became a sharer of his palace 
and his crown. When you wed your heart and 
hand to Jesus, you become a sharer in his king- 
dom and crown, a joint heir with Christ ! 

" How soon shall I join the church ? " Just 
as soon as your heart has joined the Saviour. 
Not one minute before that. When God gives 
conversion, he demands confession. Make the 
most of your early love. If your heart goes 
out to Jesus in loving trust, then stand up for 
him and with him, and, joining your hand to 
his, take the blessed vows of spiritual wedlock. 
The whole drift of the Bible is in favor of 
prompt approach to Christ, prompt trust in 
Christ, prompt confession of Christ, prompt 
obedience to his every call to duty. The teach- 
ing of the word is, " Whatsoever He saith to 
you, do it." But the devil's version reads, 
" Whatsoever he saith to you, delay it." — " Heart 
Life." 



37i 



DECEMBER 6. 



CUYLER. 



Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. — Rom. 13 : 
14. 

The Robe of Righteousness. 

THE apostle exhorts every one to " put on 
the Lord Jesus Christ." This signifies 
the entire inwrapping and infolding of our- 
selves in the texture of Christ's imparted right- 
eousness and all-sufficient grace. We walk and 
we work inside of our clothes. So a true, con- 
sistent, useful Christian moves every day inside 
of that beautiful garment which Jesus has woven 
for him and wrapped about him. Let us bear 
in mind that it is a " seamless robe " which the 
blessed Master provides for us ; we must have 
all of it or none. True conversion is not the 
patching of a few bright pieces on a decaying 
and worthless fabric. It is the bestowal of a 
new robe on the penitent believer. How beauti- 
ful it is when washed white by the Redeemer of 
sinners ! How well it wears ! I have seen it look 
brighter than new after forty or fifty years of hard 
service. 

With so complete and comely a robe offered to 
us, why should so many professors of religion be 
content with a life that is only a bit of shreds 
and patches ? Certainly no scoffer and no world- 
ling is ever so charmed with them as to come 
and say to them : k< Where did you find that ? I 
want something like it." Inconsistent Christians 
only disgust the people of the world, and lead 
them to say, " If that is Christianity, I don't 
want it ; my coat of character is as good as that 
or better." — The Lidependent. 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 7. 



The water that I give him shall be in him a 
well of water springing up into everlasting life. — 
John 4 : 14. 

The WelUspring. 

CHRIST does not offer to be simply an oc- 
casional shower of blessings to the faithful 
believer. He promises to be a living well. In 
true conversion Christ enters the soul, not as a 
transient visitor, but as an abiding guest. While 
there he gives perennial life and beauty and 
strength to the believer. "Yet not I," says 
the apostle, " but Christ that liveth in me" And 
that was the reason why Paul remained a Chris- 
tian, a Christ's-man, long after the first excite- 
ment of the scene at Damascus had passed away. 
A well was opened in Paul's heart that day, and 
its deep, living waters never ran dry. 

The Fountainhead of all holy affections, and 
all generous deeds, and all heroic, self-denying 
endurances, is down deep in the man's heart; 
because Christ lives, he lives also. You can no 
more exhaust the graces of a John Wesley, or a 
Chalmers, or an Oberlin, than you can pump the 
Thames dry at London Bridge. When, therefore, 
we meet a man or a woman who almost never 
disappoints us, who is always " abounding " in 
the work of the Lord, who serves God on every 
day as well as on Sunday, who is more anxious 
to be right than to be rich, who can ask God's 
blessing on the bitterest cup,— when we meet such 
a one, we know that down in the clefts of the 
soul is Christ, the well-spring. — " Heart Life." 



373 



DECEMBER 8. 



CUYLER. 



He shall dwell on high. — Isa. 33 : 16. 

Living up with God. 

TRUE conversion is a change of place ; it 
puts a man in a new position towards him- 
self, towards his fellow r men, and towards God. 
While the ungodly build down on the shifting 
sands, and the shifting structure at last " falls 
in," the wise man makes his abode up on the 
everlasting cliffs. His soul does not seek a mere 
night's lodging there, but goes there to stay. I 
once climbed up to the magnificent fortress of 
Salzburg, which overlooks wide leagues of emer- 
ald plains with the snowy Tyrolese Alps in the 
background. It is one of the most enchanting 
outlooks in all Europe. But while I could enjoy 
the splendid prospect only for an hour, I found 
that a hundred or more people were living up 
there. So it is with a soul that has been re- 
deemed by the blood of Jesus, and has repented 
of sin, and been regenerated by the Holy Spirit ; 
he has got into a new position, breathes a new 
atmosphere, and has a new outlook. He lives up 
with God. This is the true higher life. The 
morning sun of God's favor shines on him, and 
at evening-time it is still light. There is such a 
thing as keeping our heads and our hands busy 
in all the useful activities of life and yet having 
our hearts dwelling " in fellowship with the 
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." — The 
Independent. 



374 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 9. 



If ye love me, keep my commandments. — 
John 14 : 15. 

Loving Obedience. 

THE child who only obeys his parents from 
the dread of the rod, or from the bribe of 
a promised gift, cannot be trusted. My friend, 
are you only held to the performance of your 
religious duties by self-interest, or by respect for 
public opinion, or by the frail withe of church- 
membership ? Then you are a slave and not a 
child ; the Master cannot trust you, and will not 
answer for you. Here lies the radical difference 
between the two sorts of Christian professors. 
The one class are mere eye-servants. They 
seem to be trying to discover how little they 
can do, and yet keep up a decent appearance, 
and squeeze into heaven at last. They are 
minimum Christians, and if saved at all they can 
only hope for a minimum heaven. 

On the other hand, obedience prompted by 
love never limits itself to the exact letter of the 
obligation. When you pay a note at the bank, 
you only pay the precise sum on its face ; but 
when you make a gift of affection, the larger you 
can make it, the better. A hireling looks at his 
watch impatiently, and when the hand points to 
six o'clock he gladly flings down his tools and 
quits work. An artist becomes so enamored 
with his picture that he is willing to linger until 
midnight at his easel. . . . Love never murmurs, 
" Must I do this ? " It rejoices to bear burdens 
for Him who bore the bitter agonies of the cross 
for our redemption. Love is the foundation of 
obedience. — The Independent. 



375 



DECEMBER 10. 



CUYLER. 



Gold tried in the fire. — Rev. 3:18. 
Fire=proof Christians. 

A GODLY character is often described in 
the Bible as " gold." It is the most beau- 
tiful of all metals, and a resemblance to Christ 
is the most beautiful of characters. Brass is a 
metal of human manufacture, but gold is a divine 
production ; so is genuine godliness. If you are 
a genuine Christian, my friend, it is because the 
Holy Spirit has regenerated your heart, and 
made you a "new man'' or woman in "Christ 
Jesus." 

There is too much sham religion in the world, 
for all is not gold that glitters. Your religion 
and mine must be tested to prove its solid value. 
What are our hope and faith worth to us ? What 
impression do we make on other people ? How 
much like Jesus Christ do we look in their keen, 
scrutinizing eyes ? Has our faith any power 
to sustain us under strong temptations ? Can 
it comfort and cheer us in dark hours ? Can it 
make us submissive under such trials as sick- 
ness, bereavement, adversities, and disappoint- 
ments ? The effectual way to prove this is to 
put us into the furnace. In the third chapter 
of Revelation we read of "gold tried in the 
fire " ; that is, a faith that will endure the sever- 
est test. The apostle Peter, on this same line 
of thought, says, "The trial of our faith, being 
much more precious than of gold that perisheth, 
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto 
praise and honor and glory at the appearing of 
Jesus Christ." — The Golden Rule. 

376 



DECEMBER II. 



Ye shall be witnesses unto me. — Acts i : 8. 
Witnesses for Christ. 

THE strongest argument for Christianity is 
a clean, courageous, and useful Christian 
life. Creed is to be interpreted by character and 
conduct. On the other hand, the severest blows 
which Christianity has to bear are not dealt by 
its opponents, but by its professed friends who 
are false to its teachings and spirit. This puts 
a tremendous responsibility on every one who 
claims to be a friend of Jesus Christ. "I call 
you not bond-servants," says the loving Saviour 
to us, " for the bond-servant knoweth not what 
his Lord doeth ; but I have called you friends." 
To this he adds that we are his witnesses. This 
lynx-eyed world never sees Jesus Christ except in 
the person of his followers. 

It is an infinite privilege to be a friend of the 
Son of God. It bringeth great blessings ; it 
secureth great promises, and it involves great 
responsibilities. To us Jesus Christ gives his 
name. To us he intrusts the interests of his 
kingdom. Us he makes his witnesses before 
the world. What sin involves more ingratitude 
or works more mischief than for Christ's blood- 
redeemed followers to betray their Lord ? The 
word " traitor " is a hateful word. Brethren, let 
us never turn traitors to our Saviour. Treason 
is a hateful thing ; let us pray that the love of 
Jesus may rule in our hearts with such power, 
and the honor of Jesus be so dear in our eyes, 
that we may never betray him. — The Inde- 
pendent. 



377 



DECEMBER 12. Cuyler. 



Whosoever will be a friend of the world is 
the enemy of God. — Jas. 4 : 4. 

Over the Line. 

THE Word of God draws a dividing line. 
Over that line lies the path of self-indul- 
gence, frivolity, slavery to fashion. Over that line 
God is ignored and often defied. Christ is 
wounded there and crucified afresh. Over that 
line the follower of Jesus has no business to go. 

Over the line which separates pure piety from 
the world, the Christian, if he goes at all, must 
go as a participant in the pleasures of the world, 
or as a protestant against them. If he goes to 
partake, he offends Christ ; if he goes to protest, 
he offends his ill-chosen associates. Christian, 
if you ever attend a convivial party, a ballroom 
assembly, a theatre, or a gaming company, do 
you go as a partaker in the sport, or to make 
your protest against such amusements ? If you 
go for the first object you offend your Lord ; if 
for the second, you offend your company. They 
do not want you there. We are quite sure that 
no bevy of merry-makers would be happier over 
their cups, or their cards, or their cotillons, if 
all the elders and the deacons of our church 
were to come in suddenly among them. Breth- 
ren, "the world" don't want you in their giddy 
and godless pleasures unless you are willing to 
go all lengths with them. And if you walk one 
mile with them over the line, they will " compel 
you to go with them twain." If your conscience 
yields the " coat," they will soon rob you of your 
" cloak also." — " Heart Life." 



373 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 1 3. 



Use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, 
but by love serve one another. — Gal. 5:13. 

Theatre=going. 

I HAVE a legal right to do many things, 
which, as a Christian, I cannot do. I have 
a legal right to attend the theatre. No police- 
man stands at the door to exclude me, or dares 
to eject me while my conduct is orderly and be- 
coming. But I have no moral right to go there ; 
not merely because I may see and hear much 
that may soil my memory for days and months, 
but because that whole garnished and glittering 
establishment, with its sensuous attractions, is to 
many a young person the yawning maelstrom of 
perdition. The dollar which I gave at the box 
office is my contribution towards sustaining an 
establishment whose dark foundations rest on 
the murdered souls of thousands of my fellow 
men. Their blood stains its walls, and from 
that " pit " they have gone to another pit, where 
no sounds of mirth ever come. Now, I ask, what 
right have I to enter a place where the tragedies 
that are played before me by painted women and 
dissolute men are as nothing to the tragedies of 
lost souls that are enacted in some parts of that 
house every night ? What right have I to give 
my money and my presence to sustain that moral 
slaughter-house, and by walking into the theatre 
myself, to aid in decoying others to follow me ? 
— " Heart Life." 



379 



DECEMBER 14. 



ClJYLER. 



Wine is a mocker: . . . whosoever is de- 
ceived thereby is not wise. — Prov. 20 : 1. 

Danger in the First Glass. 

NO one. is absolutely safe who tampers with 
an intoxicant. Not only the sting of the 
serpent, but the subtlety of the serpent is in it. 
The deception lies in the fact that the habit of 
drinking will become confirmed before you sus- 
pect that it is enslaving you. Every glass of 
liquor increases the desire for another glass, A 
loaf of bread, a dish of beef, a draught of milk, 
satisfy hunger ; they do not breed a ravening 
appetite. This fact makes it so difficult to use 
wine or brandy without running into excess. A 
habit of drinking is formed and confirmed before 
the drinker is aware. . . . You may say, " Every 
one who drinks liquors does not become a sot." 
Very true, but every sot drinks liquors ; and not 
one in a million ever expected to become a sot 
when he began with his champagne or his sherry. 
Will you run the risk ? I would not. The two 
reasons why I am a teetotaler are that I dare 
not trust myself, and I dare not tempt others by 
my example. The most deplorable wrecks are 
those of men and women who, at the outset, 
considered themselves perfectly strong and in- 
vulnerable. Nothing from the pen of Dickens 
can surpass the heartrending letter I received 
from a cultured gentleman (then in an alms- 
house) tracing all the misery of his life from the 
first glass he ever drank at a certain hotel. — 
" Stirring the Eagle's Nest." 

3S0 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER I 5. 



Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil 
the vines. — Cant. 2:15. 

Little Sins. 

THE character of many a young man is sadly 
damaged by what he considers small faults. 
The mistake he makes is in his moral measure- 
ments. Little things become great things when 
they work great mischief. In the West Indies 
there is a worm that gnaws out the interior of an 
apparently solid piece of timber, and when a 
sudden strain is put upon it, it snaps and fills 
the eyes with a fine powder. Small faults may 
fracture a whole character. 

My friend, do not put a false measurement 
upon the word " sin." It does not mean only huge 
offences like profanity or drunkenness, theft or 
perjury, adultery or murder; it means anything 
that violates conscience, mars the beauty of your 
character, damages your usefulness, and hinders 
honorable success. The word " sin " in the Bible 
literally means to miss the mark. If you fail to 
hit the mark of absolute right, a miss is as good 
as a mile. And then, what if you miss heaven ? 
. . . Instead of trying to whitewash your faults, 
by calling them only " infirmities " and " weak- 
nesses," you had better label them by their true 
names of vices and sins. Everything that is not 
right is wrong. 

I beg you, don't go off fox-hunting in your 
neighbor's vineyard ; look squarely and sharply 
after the little destructives that threaten the 
beauty and the fruitfulness of your own vine. — 
The Golde?t Rule. 

081 



DECEMBER 16. 



CUYLER. 



Doest thou well to be angry ? — Jonah 4 : 4. 
A Bad Temper. 

ONE of the little foxes that work great mis- 
chief to Christian character is a bad tem- 
per. Pray don't dismiss this as a mere foible or 
natural infirmity. It is a sin, and of very ugly 
dimensions, though you may think it small. An 
irritable temper — whether it explodes like gun- 
powder, or simmers and stews over a slow fire of 
sullenness — is a violation of the central, cardi- 
nal Christian grace of love. It is a sin against 
the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and it has an ugly 
root, for it is born of hatred, which is the very 
spirit of the devil. 

Don't confound the vice of an irritable temper 
with the virtue of a righteous indignation against 
wrong; for God himself abhorreth evil. Profes- 
sor Drummond describes a deadly, venomous 
snake which he saw in Africa, called the puff 
adder ; it coils itself among the leaves, and resem- 
bles the leaves. When you get angry, stop and 
think whether Jesus Christ or the devil is stirring 
you up. An irritable temper is not to be con- 
doned as a " natural weakness " or a constitu- 
tional infirmity ; drunkenness or licentiousness 
may be hereditary, but they are none the less 
wicked and destructive. 

You can cure a bad temper if you try to, 
with God's help. One of the kindest and calm- 
est Christians I ever knew, told me that he used 
to be violently passionate, but he broke his bad 
temper by resolutely bridling his tongue until he 
cooled down. — The Golden Ride. 

382 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 1 7. 



Redeeming the time. — Eph. 5:16; Col. 4 : 5. 
Two Kindred Sins. 




ROCRASTINATION is fatal to success. 
The Bible injunction to " redeem your time " 



does not refer to time in general, but to the " nick 
of time." The text, properly translated, means, 
" Buy your opportunities." Success in earning 
money, success in achieving any good undertak- 
ing, success in doing anything for your Master, 
all depends on this seizing of the opportunity. 

Never let a duty drift past you. Jesus Christ 
never lost an opportunity. Procrastination is the 
worst of thieves, for it steals what never can be 
restored to us. To-morrow is the fool's paradise ; 
for human souls, it is Satan's doorway to perdi- 
tion. 

Is want of punctuality a sin ? Yes, because it 
often involves a violation of your word, and is an 
acted falsehood. It also involves a serious wrong 
to other people. You may recall Washington's 
answer to his secretary, who excused his want of 
punctuality by saying that his watch was out of 
order : " Then you must get another watch, or I 
another secretary." 

Tardiness and carelessness in keeping engage- 
ments may be regarded as small faults, but they 
are things that hinder one's success ; and you 
most remember that most failures in this world 
are not caused by other people, but by the people 
themselves. — The Golden Rule. 



383 



DECEMBER 1 8. 



CUYLER. 



For the love of money is the root of all evil. 
— i Tim. 6 : 10. 

Concerning Money. 

MONEY is a large word, because it fills a 
large space every day in the thoughts of 
people, both rich and poor, and because it makes 
a large provision for all the necessaries of life. 
It procures those things that none of us can do 
without. The desire to get money is a universal 
instinct ; it is a legitimate desire ; there is no sin 
in possessing money ; the real sin comes in when 
money possesses us. It is the " love of money that 
is the root of all evil," because it breeds detest- 
able selfishness, and hardens the heart towards 
God and our fellow men. The Bible thunders out 
tremendous warnings against those who " will be 
rich," who make wealth the chief object of their 
desire. 

These things being true, how shall a Christian 
regard money ? I would answer that you should 
regard it just as you regard your time, or your 
health, or your talents, or your influence ; you 
should look at it as a trust. You are stewards of 
Jesus Christ for everything you have ; and you 
ought to see his image and superscription on 
every dollar you possess. 

Money is power ; in these days it is a prodig- 
ious power for Jesus Christ, and for human wel- 
fare. I shall never forget a remark made to 
me by the Christian millionaire, Charles Pratt, 
founder of " Pratt Institute." He said : " I never 
got real happiness out of my money till I began 
to do good with it." — The Golde?i Rule. 

3S4 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 19. 



The younger son . . . wasted his substance. 
— Luke 15 : 13. 



CONOMY is a rather old-fashioned word, 



I j and not very popular in these days. Ex- 
travagance is the raging sin of the times. From 
the national government which spends more than 
it receives, down to the farmer who wastes more 
than his family eats, we are the most wasteful 
nation on the globe. 

Economy is not — or ought not to be — a mat- 
ter of niggardly penuriousness, but a high moral 
principle. You have no right to spend what you 
do not have, or what is not in sight. I beg you 
to strike for an honest independence, so that, 
although you wear a coarse coat, you are not 
ashamed to look any man in the face. 

Keep out of debt as you would keep from the 
devil. It is the horrible slavery that drives 
sleep from the eyes and peace from the mind, 
and sometimes drives to despair and disgrace. 
Debt has destroyed more than one Christian 
character. "The borrower is the slave to the 
lender." Face hard work, face a scanty purse, 
face the sharpest self-denial, face anything rather 
than be ashamed to face any fellow creature. 
" Owe no man anything but love." 

How are you going to save money ? By prac- 
tising a selfish stinginess ? No ! Regulate your 
outgo by your income. Cut down false expenses. 
Never mortgage to-morrow to pay for to-day. — 
The Golden Rule. 



Economy. 




38s 



DECEMBER 20. 



CUYLER. 



Render unto Caesar the things that are Cae- 
sar's. — Luke 20 : 25. 

Christian Citizenship. 

IN a republic every voter is a ruler ; and the 
only solid basis of good government is the 
individual conscience which seeks to know what is 
right and dares to do it. The ballot is infinitely 
more than a privilege ; it is a solemn trust ; and 
the man who fails to use it, or who uses it care- 
lessly or corruptly or wickedly, is guilty of treason 
to his country. 

Next to the sin of voting wrongly is the sin of 
not voting at all. What right have thousands of 
reputable citizens, who stay away from " primary 
meetings " and from the polls, to complain of 
mischievous legislation, or the election of corrupt 
officers and lawmakers ? The neglect of suffrage 
by those best calculated to exercise it is one of 
the gravest of our national perils. The more 
the ignorant and worthless rush into politics, the 
more have cultured and intelligent citizens 
pushed out ; and dearly has the commonwealth 
paid for this criminal neglect of the first duty of 
citizenship. Next to Christ comes country. 

One of the most serious dangers is the ten- 
dency of so many people to divorce their religion 
from their politics. Their moral make-up seems 
to be divided into two separate compartments : on 
Sunday they worship God in their church ; during 
the week they worship a party creed. Politics is 
not to them a matter of sacred duty ; it is a 
game to be played at, and conscience goes under 
the table. — The Independent. 

3§6 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 21. 



Beloved, think it not strange concerning the 
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some 
strange thing happened unto you. — i Pet. 4:12. 

Fiery Trials. 

A TRUE Christian life is pretty well de- 
scribed by the definition of a verb in old- 
fashioned grammars : it signifies " to be, to do, 
and to suffer." How to be a disciple of Christ 
Jesus, and what a disciple ought to do, have been 
admirably discussed. But there are many Chris- 
tians who belong to the large class of sufferers. 
One is suffering from sickness ; another from a 
sharp bereavement ; another from poverty ; an- 
other from some sore disappointment. Jesus 
Christ has a vast school in which he gives in- 
structions and administers discipline ; the very 
word, " disciple," signifies a little scholar. His 
ripest and most royal scholars are often made 
such by an expensive education. 

Beloved Christian, "think it not strange con- 
cerning the fiery trial." That is the way in which 
God has dealt with his own from the days of 
Abraham and Joseph and Daniel and Paul, and 
the two sisters at Bethany, clear down to this 
day. 

Jesus Christ takes a world of pains in the 
making of a first-class Christian. . . . Before our 
Master's eye there is an ideal of what you and I 
ought to be, and if he can correct our faults, and 
develop our graces, and increase our influence 
for good, and make us better Christians, he does 
not hesitate to use sharp instruments. " Whom I 
love I chasten" — The Golden Rale. 



387 



DECEMBER 22. 



CUYLER. 



And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of 
silver. — Mal. 3:3. 

Refining the Gold. 

THE Master has a great many " places for his 
gold, where he refines it.'' May you not 
be in just one of those places now? If so. then 
it is the best place for you. . . . " There is One," 
said Walter Scott's noble Jeanie Deans, " who 
kens better what is for our gude than we ken 
oursels." God discovers sometimes even in the 
true Christians an alloy of self-will or pride or 
worldly ambition or cowardice or some other be- 
setting sin, and then they require the " fining- 
pot " or the furnace. 

Our Master often employs adversity as a puri- 
fier and a refiner of character. A keen winter 
kills off the vermin ; even thus does our heavenly 
Father permit wintry seasons of affliction to kill 
off certain kinds of besetting sins. 

Many of my readers may be wondering why a 
loving God permits them to suffer so, or why they 
are called to endure so painful trials. Don't won- 
der. Don't worry. Don't rebel. A chemist who 
is purifying silver keeps the crucible over the fire 
until he can see his own face reflected in the 
bright, clear metal as if it were a mirror. My 
friend, when Jesus Christ, who "sitteth as a 
refiner," can see something of his own image re- 
flected in your conduct and character, then you 
are ready to be moulded into the beauty of holi- 
ness and the richest usefulness. Hot furnaces 
often make the brightest Christians. — The 
Golden Rule. 



388 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 23. 



Be not therefore anxious for the morrow : for 
the morrow will be anxious for itself. — Matt. 
6:34. (R.V.) 

The Sin of Worrying. 

WORRY is not only a sin against God ; it is 
a sin against ourselves. Thousands have 
shortened their lives by it, and millions have made 
their lives bitter by dropping this gall into their 
souls every day. Honest work seldom hurts us ; 
it is worry that kills. . . . This perverse spirit of 
worry runs off and gathers anticipated troubles, 
and throws them into the cup of mercies, and 
turns them to vinegar. A bereaved parent 
sits 'down by the new-made grave of a beloved 
child, and sorrowfully says to herself, "Well, I 
have only one more left, and one of these days 
he may be taken away ; and if he dies, my house 
will be desolate and my heart broken." Who 
gave that weeping mother permission to use that 
word " if " ? Is not her trial sore enough without 
overloading it with an imaginary trial ? If she 
would see a living child yet spared to her, to be 
loved and enjoyed and lived for, instead of hav- 
ing two sorrows, she would have one great pos- 
session to set over against a great loss. 

If your children gather round your table, enjoy 
them, train them, trust them to God, without 
racking yourself with a dread that the little ones 
may sometime be carried off by scarlet fever, or 
the older ones may be ill married or fall into dis- 
grace. — "God's Light on Dark Clouds." 



3§9 



DECEMBER 24. 



CUYLER. 



Freely ye have received, freely give. — Matt. 
10:8. 

Be Charitable. 



ALLY out from your comfortable home on a 



wintry night, well equipped with a basket of 
provisions, a bundle of warm clothing, and a Bible 
in your pocket, — and direct your way to that ob- 
scure alley in which that sick bread-winner and 
his suffering family are hungering for food and still 
more for sympathy. It is a hard place to find. 
But the piercing cold has found it ; poverty has 
found it ; disease has found it ; fevers or consump- 
tion have entered that rickety door already. Now 
unload your cargo of charity. Bring out the 
woollen jacket for that shivering lad ; it warms 
him at once, but it sends a warmer glow also 
into your own heart when the lad floods you with 
his thanks. Now help that ghastly father to take 
the medicine you have brought him ; slip your 
greenbacks into the hand of that pale wife and 
tell her what to do for that cough. As you look 
around that wretched room, how ashamed you are 
that you ever utter complaints in your own well- 
furnished home ! Now open your Bible and read 
the fourteenth chapter of John to the listening 
group ; and as you go down on your knees, 
heartily thank the dear Father of all that in his 
heavenly house are " many mansions," where hun- 
gry want and pinching pain never come, and where 
he will wipe away every tear from our eyes. . . . 
The mere gift of gold is but a part of Christian 
benevolence. We must freely give of everything 
that we have freely received of the Lord. — 
" Stirring the Eagle's Nest." 




390 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 2$. 



Behold, I bring you good tidings of great 
joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you 
is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, 
which is Christ the Lord. . . . Glory to God in 
the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward 
men. — Luke 2 : 10, 11, 14. Thanks be to God 
for his unspeakable gift. — 2 Cor. 9:15. 

" May God's Peace be with You and Your Loved 
Ones This Christmas Day." 

THE Christmas bells are ringing in the 
brightest day in the Christian calendar. 
The clock of time will soon strike for the birth 
of another twelvemonth, when every man will 
wish his neighbor a " happy New Year." To 
many it will no doubt be a day of sadness, for it 
will remind them of the loved ones whom the 
past year has buried out of their sight ; 1 but 
every genuine disciple of Jesus, every heir of 
heaven, ought to possess deep and abiding re- 
sources of joy, that lie as far beneath the tem- 
pests of trial as the depths of the Atlantic are 
beneath the storms that tear its surface into foam- 
ing billows. Every healthy Christian ought to 
be a happy Christian under every stress of cir- 
cumstances. — " God's Light on Dark Clouds." 

" The patient mother gently sighed, 

And breathed the name of one who died; 
Then softly said, ' To her was given 
The year's best gift, for she has heaven.' " 

1 Dr. Cuyler wrote these words out of the depths of his own sorrow- 
ing heart. Just three months before, on Sept. 30, 1881, his sweet young 
daughter "passed into the life of the better world." 



39 1 



DECEMBER 26. 



CUYLER. 



Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? — Acts 
9:6. 

Choosing an Occupation. 

" T TAPPY is the man who finds what his 
X ± work is, and does it ! To find it is to 
find our calling, and to do it is to find our high- 
est joy and peace." So wrote the large-hearted 
and eloquent Dr. Norman Macleod of Scotland, 
and to these true words I can echo a hearty 
Amen ! . . . The three most vitally important 
choices for every young man to make are : a 
Saviour for his soul, a good wife for his home, 
and the right occupation for his life. 

In selecting your occupation, endeavor first to 
find out what the Creator made you for. Con- 
sult your natural bent and talent. Study your- 
self ; study the leadings of Providence, and pray 
earnestly for divine direction. . . . Having de- 
cided on a calling, don't be ashamed to begin at 
the bottom and work like a beaver. 

However crowded may be the legal and other 
professions, I am confident that the one line of 
business that is not overdone is good preaching. 
No man is so absolutely certain to find employ- 
ment as the earnest, soul-loving, truly conse- 
crated minister of Jesus Christ ; and he need not 
wish to change thrones with an archangel. . . . 
Of the host of young Christians only a small 
number may enter a pulpit ; but all may serve 
Jesus Christ in their calling, however humble it 
may be. In choosing your business, aim higher 
than to make a living ; aim to make a life worth 
carrying up to the judgment-seat of Christ. — 
The Golden Rule. 



39 2 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 27. 



Day by day. — Exod. 29 : 38 ; Luke 11:3. 

Living a Day at a Time. 

THE coming year will have three hundred 
and sixty-five days in its calendar, but 
really will have only one working-day, and that 
is called " To-day." That is all you will be ac- 
countable for ; none but a fool lives in to-mor- 
row. Serve your Master by the day. Each four 
and twenty hours brings its own duties to be 
done, its own temptations to be conquered, its 
own loads to be carried, and its own progress to 
be made heavenward. There never was a Chris- 
tian yet strong enough to carry to-day's duties 
with to-morrow's worries piled on the top of them. 
Take short views, and never try to climb walls 
until you get to them, or to cross a bridge until 
you reach it. Begin every day with Jesus Christ, 
and then, keeping step with him, march on to 
duty over the roughest road that lies before you, 
and in the teeth of the hardest head wind you 
may encounter. 

" My times are in thy hands," and they could 
not be in better hands. Our times are in our all- 
wise and all-loving Father's hands, both for con- 
trol and for concealment. He takes care of us, 
and yet we cannot tell just what to-morrow or 
the next year will bring forth. For one, I am 
glad of it. So let us sing, — 

" Keep thou my feet ; I do not ask to see 
The distant scene ; one step enough for me." 

— The Golden Ride, 



393 



DECEMBER 28. 



CUYLER. 



I will arise and go to my father. — Luke i 5 : 
18. 

Hard Times. 

WE often hear complaints of " hard times," 
— a stringency in the money markets, 
dullness of trade, and depression in business. 
This state of things prevents warm-hearted Chris- 
tians from giving money for religious purposes, 
and is often an excuse for another sort of Chris- 
tians to cheat their Master. They do not cur- 
tail in their luxuries, but they cut down their 
benevolent contributions. But there are worse 
things for a Christian than dull trade, diminished 
salary, or small profits. It is hard times for him 
when he gets but few glimpses of his Bible, and 
tries to keep his soul alive on novels and news- 
papers. The times are " hard" with him when 
he neglects his closet, and prefers to spend an 
evening in a social frolic or the theatre rather 
than in his prayer meeting. The times are hard 
with one that has not a single scheme of benevo- 
lence on hand, or a single seed sown and sprout- 
ing in Christ's vineyard, or a single human soul 
to feel grateful to him. In short, it has been a 
hard year for every Christian that has been back- 
sliding from Christ and the path of duty. 

If any reader of this feels that he or she has 
been running behind badly during the year 
now closing, I would say to such a one, " Down 
on your knees, and beg your offended Saviour 
to forgive you." Begin the opening year with 
a fresh, straight start to Jesus Christ. — The 
GoIde?i Rule. 



394 



ClJYLER. 



DECEMBER 29. 



Go your way, and his disciples and Peter. — 
Mark 16:7. 

"And Peter." 

THERE is a prodigious significance in these 
two words, " and Peter." Among all the 
eleven he was the one especially to be notified, 
not merely because he was the foremost spokes- 
man for the band, but because he had been 
under a cloud. Jesus was soon to see all the 
disciples together, and to speak " peace " to 
them. He desired to see Peter immediately, 
and to speak to him a compassionate pardon. 
Happily has it been said that " one of the first 
offices of the risen Saviour was to wipe - away 
the tears of a true penitent. . . . What a mercy 
it is, brethren, that you and I are not the slaves 
of an unrelenting taskmaster, but the servants of 
a compassionate Saviour, who does not deal with 
us after our sins, nor reward us according to our 
denials of him ! 

Jesus Christ keeps open doors for penitent 
backsliders. To the lukewarm as well as to 
those who have fallen into open, flagrant sin, the 
inviting voice is, " Remember whence thou art 
fallen, and repent, and do thy first works." My 
friend, if you have grown cold in heart, and 
indolent in duty, if prayer has become a pen- 
ance, and the world has eaten out your love of 
the Master, don't go hunting amid the rubbish 
of memory for a lost religion. Give up the old 
"hope" and seek a better. ... If Peter sinned 
grievously, he repented deeply, and worked 
grandly, and fought gloriously. — The ^depend- 
ant 



395 



DECEMBER 30. 



CUYLER. 



Let us search and try our ways, and turn again 
to the Lord. — Lam. 3 : 40. 

" Taking Stock." 

NEW YEAR'S is the time when merchants 
" take account of stock " to find out what 
their assets are worth. This is a good process 
for a Christian to employ. What progress have 
you made during the past twelvemonth ? How 
much good have you done? What soul have 
you tried to lead to Christ? What bad habit 
have you conquered? Is your love for Jesus 
and your zeal up to blood-heat? Then write 
under the record of the past year, " Hitherto 
hath the Lord helped me," and resolve to make 
the next year yield a still larger dividend. If you 
do not advance, you will go back ; there is no 
standing still in the Christian life. 

Let the coming year be one of more fervent 
prayer. Growth in the Christian life is no more 
possible without prayer than eyesight without 
light. While you pray for what you need most, 
do your own part to bring about the answer. 
Work with the Holy Spirit, never against him. 
It is mockery to pray for what you are not 
earnestly working to obtain ; a farmer might as 
well pray for a wheat crop without putting in 
a plough. Aim also at a deeper spirituality ; a 
shallow religion brings no joy to yourself, and 
no good to others. All growing Christians are 
hungry feeders on their Bibles ; hem every morn- 
ing with a stout seam of prayer and God's Word ; 
then the day will not ravel out into frivolity and 
failure. — The Golden Rule. 

396 



CUYLER. 



DECEMBER 3 1. 



Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God. — Ps. 
76 : 11. 

How to Meet the New Year. 

BEGIN the new year with a solemn promise 
to your conscience and your Master that 
you will take a new departure. Some people 
sneer at promises, and point to the ease and fre- 
quency with which they are often broken. 

But every fruit-tree issues its "promissory 
notes " in white blossoms every May ; no blos- 
som, no fruit. At the marriage altar wedlock 
is built upon a solemn vow. Admission into the 
church is accompanied by a covenant, and the 
cardinal feature of the Christian Endeavor So- 
ciety is its pledge. To make your pledge effect- 
ive during the coming year, you should re-enforce 
it with fervent prayer and constant watchful- 
ness over yourself. A pledge without the Holy 
Spirit's power behind it is a rope of sand to an 
anchor of straw. Open the Bible to the seventh 
verse of the fiftieth chapter of Isaiah, and lash 
your promise fast to these glorious words. Then 
promise will become performance. 

On the last afternoon of a certain year, I met 
a gentleman who had never entered a prayer 
meeting in his life. I said to him, " My friend, 
suppose that you and I take a fresh start for 
God, and make next year a better one." That 
very evening he came into our meeting, and 
within a week he was a converted man. . . . Let 
us march into the New Year with locked step 
and our colors flying. — The Golden Rule. 



397 



INDEX. 



INDEX OF AUTHORS. 



Alden, Mrs. G. R. 



PAGE 

212 



Baxter, Richard 
Bickersteth, Edward H. 
Boardman, George Dana 
Bogatzky, C. H. Von 
Bonar, Andrew 
Bonar, Horatius 
Bottome, Margaret 
Brainerd, David 
Brooks, Phillips 
Bunyan, John . 
Bushnell, Horace 

Carey, William . 
Chalmers, Thomas 
Chapman, J. Wilbur 
Clark, Francis E. 
Cuyler, Theodore L. 

Doddridge, Philip 
Drummond, Henry 

Edwards, Jonathan 
Evans, Christmas 

Fenelon 

Finney, Charles G. 
Flavel, John 
Fuller, Thomas . 

Gladden, Washington 
Gordon, Adoniram Judson 



345 
360 
207 

357 
231 
xiv 
230 

338 
224 

355 
223 

35i 
349 
213 

33 
3 6 7 

358 
299 

340 
337 

35o 
205 

339 
346 

229 
167 



401 



INDEX OF AUTHORS. 



PAGE 



Hale, Sir Matthew - . 363 

Hall, John 218 

Hall, Robert k ' . . -336 

Havergal, Frances Ridley ...... 65 

Henry, Matthew - . . . . . -347 

Hervey, James . . . . . . . . 364 

Hill, Rowland 348 

James, John Angell 353 

Kempis, Thomas a 362 

Krummacher, Friedrich Wilhelm . . . -215 

Luther, Martin ........ 343 

Macduff, J. R 221 

McCheyne, Robert Murray ..... 202 

McGaw, James A. P. . . . . . .210 

McKenzie, Alexander ...... 204 

Macleod, Norman 225 

Mather, Cotton 352 

Meikle, James ........ 361 

Meyer, Frederick Brotherton . . . . . 133 

Miller, J. R 233 

Moody, Dwight L 267 

More, Hannah 356 

Mott, John R .211 

Miiller, George 214 

Murray, Andrew . . . . . . . 1 

Neander, August . . . . . . -354 

Newton, John 344 

Parker, Joseph . . . . . . . .217 

Phelps, Austin . . . . . . . . 201 

Pierson, Arthur T. . . . . .216 

Proudfit, Alexander . . . ... . 206 

Robertson, Frederick William . . . . .228 
Rutherford, Samuel 359 

Shipton, Anna 208 

Smith, Hannah Whitall . . ' . . . .227 



402 



INDEX OF AUTHORS. 



PAGE 

Somerset, Lady Henry . . . . . .220 

Speer, Robert E : ' 203 

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon . . . . .101 
Studd, C. T. . . . . . . . 219 

Taylor, Jeremy . . . . . . „ -335 

Trumbull, H. Clay . . . . . . .222 

Vaughan, Henry xv 

Watts, Isaac ........ 342 

Wells, Amos R. ....... 209 

Whitefield, George ....... 341 

Willard, Frances E. . , . . . . . 226 



4°3 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



PAGE 

Abiding in Christ Every Moment . . . 8 

Absence from Week-night Services . . . .124 

Acquaintance with God 169 

All Things Working Together . . . . 193 

Alone with God 3 

" And Peter " 395 

Anointing for Service . . . . . -285 

Anonymous Lies 49 

Ask All to the Glory of God 19 

Asking and Receiving 18 

Asking and Receiving . . . . . . 213 

Assurance ........ 276 

Attempt Great Things 183 

Bad Temper, A 382 

Bad Tempers ........ 330 

Be Charitable ........ 390 

Becoming Like Our Associates . .... 305 

Begin with God ....... xiv 

Begin the Day with God 135 

Beginning the Day with God 202 

Beginning the Day with God ..... 367 

Being Good and Doing Good 174 

Being with Jesus ....... 306 

Best Time for Bible-study, The ..... 203 

Be Ye Holy 175 

Book of Life, The . . . . . . -225 

Bread- winning 157 

Broken Sword, The . . . . . . .281 

405 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



Castaway, A . 
Cause of Unrest, The 
Causes of Failure 
Cheating Is Stealing . 
Choosing an Occupation 
Christ for Us 
Christ in Me 
" Christ Liveth in Me " 
Christ or the World — Which ? 
Christ Our Example and Our Life . 
Christ Our Example in Prayer . 
Christ Our Pattern in His Compassion 

Christ Put On 

Christ's Appointments 
Christ's Cup ..... 
Christ's Dependence on the Holy Spirit 
Christ's Words . . . . 
Christian Citizenship 
Christian Courtesy .... 
Christian Endeavor New Year's Message, 
Christian Life a Warfare, The . 
" Clothes and the King's Daughter " 
Concerning Money .... 
Concerning Moral Mountain-climbing 
Consecrated Gifts 
Consecrated Patriots 
Consecration Hymn . 
Controlling Our Thoughts 
Counting Our Mercies 
Courage to Confess Sin 
Critical Habit, The . 
Cure for Parsimony, A 
Cure for Unrest, A . 



Danger in Delay 
Danger in the First Glass . 
Day by Day 
Day's Portion for the Day, The 
Definite Prayer .... 
Departed Saints Yet Living 
Despise Not Small Things 
Devotion Prepares for Duty 



406 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



Dignity of Labor, The 
Divided Heart, A 
Divine Call for Missionaries, The 
Divine Lamp, The 
Divine Photography . 
Divine Remembrances, The 
Divine Seed, The 
Do All to the Glory of God 
Do We Heed God's Promises ? 
"Doe Ye Nexte Thynge " . 
Doing Daily Tasks for God 
Doing God's Will 
Doing God's Will 
Doing God's Will 
Doing God's Will 
Doing Good 
Doing Things to Be Seen of Men 
Doubtful Amusements 
Doubtful Amusements 
Doubtful Things 
Drawing Near to God 
Drawing Near to God in Prayer 
Duty Begins at Home . . . 
Dwelleth the Son of God with Thee 

Early Morning Vision, The 
Economy .... 
Enduring Suffering . 
Entering the Strait Gate . 
Eventide Prayer 
Excellency of Communion with God 
Extracts from Brainerd's Journal 



Facing Difficulties 
Fainting under Trial . 

Faith 

Feeding the Perishing World 
Fellowship and Cleansing . 
Fellowship and Service 
Fellowship with Jesus 
Fiery Trials 
Filled with the Spirit 



The 



321 
348 
121 
247 
26 

95 
14 

20 
290 
246 
251 

21 
192 
322 
35° 
3 2 5 
126 

44 
256 
152 
107 
108 
230 
173 

302 

385 
258 

3 6 9 
2 55 
339 
338 

191 

30 

r 95 
240 

76 

140 
5 

387 
181 



407 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



Finger-post Disciples 
Fire-proof Christians 
"First!" .... 
Following .... 
Following Jesus 
Forgetting Past Sorrows . 
Forgiving One Another 
Forgiving One Another 
For the Cure of Discontent 
For the Cure of Self-conceit 
Four Things to Fear . 
Friendship with Jesus 
Fruits Meet for Repentance 
Fulfilling the Law 

Gain of Giving, The . 
General Gordon's Morning Watch 
Gift of the Holy Spirit, The 
Giving for Missions . 
Giving Our Money . 
" Giving Up " for Jesus 
Glorying in Tribulation 
"Go!" 

God Glorified in His Works 
God-intoxicated Men 
God's Call .... 
God's Will and Ours 
Grace of Humility, The 
Grace Sufficient 
Great Commission, The 
Growing in Grace 
Guidance .... 

Hard Times 
Having the Source of Spiritual Life within Us 
Heart Purity 
Heart-searching 

Heart Talk with a Discouraged Soul 
Heart Talk with a Doubting Soul, A 
Heart Talk with a Tempted Soul, A 
Heeding God's Messages . 
Hindering ...... 



408 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



Hints about Bible-study . 

Hints about Bible-study 

Hints about Bible-study . 

Holiday Sermon, A . 

Holy Spirit for Service, The 

Holy Spirit Glorifying Christ, The 

How Can We Glorify God ? . 

How Do You Do ? . 

How Our Love for Christ is Measured 

How Shall We Spend the Sabbath ? 

How to Be Well Grounded in Doctrine 

How to Grow ..... 

How to Know God's Will 

How to Meet the New Year 

How to Obtain Joy .... 

Hungry and Thirsty Christians 

Importance of Public Worship, The . 
Importunity in Prayer 
Impoverished Saint Rejoicing in God, Th 
Intercession . 

Invest in Souls . . . . . 
Invitation, An ..... 
Iron Shoes for Rough Roads . 

Jehovah-Jesus, My Shepherd . 
Jesus Our Example in Private Prayer 
Joining the Lord Jesus 
Joy of Full Consecration, The . 

Keeping Short Accounts with God . 
Keeping the Windows Clean 
King's Appointments, The 
Knowing God ..... 
Knowing Jesus ..... 



Law of Habit, The . 
Led by the Spirit 
Legal Christians 
Lighter of Souls, A . 
Listening to the King 



409 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



PAGE 

Little Sins . . . . . . . . . 381 

Living a Day at a Time 393 

Living as We Sing 43 

Living on the Word of God 368 

Living Sacrifice, A . . . . . -138 

Living up with God . . . . . . -374 

Love Grows through Serving ..... 222 

Love of Christ, The ....... 288 

Loving Obedience . . . . . . -375 

Loving One Another 27 

Loving One Another . . . . . 326 

Loving the Unseen Christ ..... 307 

" May God's Peace be with You and Your Loved 

Ones This Christmas Day " 391 
Mean Streaks ........ 46 

Meditation 141 

Model Prayer, The .16 

" More Love to Thee, O Christ " . . . .130 
Morning Consecration . . . . . ... xv 

Morning Watch, The 35 

Mutilated Bible, A 282 

Narrow Gateway, The ...... 370 

Need of Unhurried Communion, The . . . 139 

Neglect 313 

New Year's Message, A 1 

Noiseless Growth 312 

Not Attain, but Obtain 144 

Not I, but Christ 148 

Object-lesson, An . . . . . . . 143 

Of Resisting Temptations ..... 362 

On Attending One's Own Church .... 344 

On Giving a Tenth 352 

One-talented People 356 

Our Commission . . . . . . .8$ 

Our Country . . 204 

Our Crosses 257 

Our Duty to Perishing Millions .... 184 

Our Engagedness of Heart in Approaching unto God 336 

Our Father's Business 88 



410 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



Our Feet for Jesus . 
Our Hands for Jesus 
Our Heavenly Home 
Our Ideals 

Our Lord's Second Coming 
Our Mission 

Our Responsibility for Others 
Our Silver and Gold for Jesus 
Our Thoughts . 
Over the Line . 

Parable, A . 

Passing by on the Other Side 
Peace .... 
Peaceable Fruit of Chastening 
Perseverance in Prayer 
Personal Experience, A 
Personal Experience, A 
Poor Excuses 
Post-mortem Kindnesses . 
Power of God, The . 
Practical Consecration 
Practice of the Presence of God, The 
Practice of the Presence of God in Public 
Practising Love 
Prayer, A . 
Prayer, A . 
Praying Always . 
Praying before Others 
Prayer Calendar, A . 
Prayer for True Obedience 
Prayer of One Kept Away from God 
Precious Blood of Christ, The . 
Presence of the Lord Jesus, The 
Progressive Consecration . 
Promise of the Holy Spirit, The 
Pure Souls and Clean Bodies . 
Purification of Conscience 
Putting Forth the Sheep . 

Quarrelling with God about Our Trials 
Quiet Hour, The .... 



's Plouse, 



Worship . 



The 



PAGE 
72 

71 
I65 
l6l 
I98 
Il6 
263 

73 
153 
378 

171 

252 
360 

90 
214 
136 
284 

5 2 
2 53 
142 
250 

335 
210 

33 1 

l S 1 
217 

342 
212 

79 
349 
346 

24 

7 
7o 
178 

2 3 
337 
87 

129 
xiii 



411 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



Reading the Bible into Our Lives 
Redeeming the Time 
Refining the Gold 
Reflecting Christ 
Reflecting Jesus 

Religion Promotes Our Secular Interests , 
Religious Sluggards . 
Remembering Our Lord at His Table 
Renewing Consecration 
Revelation of God, A 
Reverence in Prayer . 
Revivals .... 
Robe of Righteousness, The 
Room for Jesus 

Sabbath-breaking 
St. Bountiful . 
St. Speakwell . 
Saving and Losing One's Life 
Saying " No" 

Seal with a Twofold Inscription 
Search the Scriptures 
Secret Communion . 
Secret Prayer 

Seeing Beauty in God's Word 
Seeing Eyes and Hearing Ears 
Seeing Others' Faults 
Seeking Blessings in Religious Duties 
Self-examination 
Selfish Religion . 
Servants of God 
Seven Rules for Daily Living 
Shining .... 
Shut Door, The 
Sin Breaks Fellowship 
Sin of Worrying, The 
Sin Separates from God . 
Sitting at the Feet of Jesus 
Slander .... 
Some Good Advice . 
Soul-winning . . . 
Source of Power, The 



412 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



PAGE 



Sowing in Tears, Reaping in Joy . . a ' .118 
Spirit's Proprietorship of Our Bodies, The . .216 

Spirit Revealing Jesus, The 170 

Spiritual Devotion ..... 0 . 106 

Spring Cleaning 150 

Standing up for Jesus ...... 241 

Steeping the Seed 119 

Stillness of Soul 4 

Straining at a Gnat and Swallowing a Camel . .127 

Strength of the Hills, The 63 

Suffering Wrongfully ...... 29 

Sunday Bicycles . . . . . 45 

" Take Time to Be Holy " . . . . .201 
Taking God's Name in Vain ..... 297 

Taking Part in Public Prayers 298 

" Taking Stock " 396 

Taking the Bible into the Closet . . . . 237 

Talkative of Prating Row . . . . . . 35 5 

Talking Book, The . . . . . . .110 

Tempers and What to Do with Them . . -156 
Temptation ........ 227 

Testimony, A . . . . . . . . 308 

That Brother of Yours 57 

Theatre-going ........ 379 

Three Dwelling-places of the Holy Spirit . . . 283 
Three Significant " Ins " . . . . . 145 

" Till He Come " 31 

To-day ......... 10 

Transforming Power, The . . . . .310 

Treasures Hidden in the Word .... 207 

True Love for God's Word . . . . .111 

True Rest 317 

True Worship . . . . . . . .114 

Trusting God for Daily Bread 1 58 

Trusting God for Daily Bread 357 

Trusting God's Promises 196 

Twin Angels of God . . . . . . .164 

Two Fruits of Love 328 

Two Kindred Sins ....... 383 

Unconfessed Sin 146 



4*3 



INDEX OF SELECTIONS. 



PAGE 

Unconscious Influence . . . . ' . 223 

Undying Deeds - : . . . . . . 224 

Unsatisfied Longing . . . . . . . 316 

L^nused Talent, The . . . . . . 315 

Vine and the Branch, The . . . . 22 

Waiting Patiently e .89 

Wandering Thoughts ...... 50 

Wanted — Peculiar People ..... 292 

Way Will Be Cleared as We Go, The . . .131 
Wellesley's Silent Times ...... 24S 

Well-spring, The . . . . . . -373 

What Have You to Give? 162 

What Is a Christian ? 324 

What Life-work Shall I Choose ? . . -58 

When Jesus Comes ....... 231 

Where Is the Holy Ghost ? . . . . .180 

Which Master Do You Serve? . . . .275 

Without Spot 176 

Witnesses for Christ 377 

Word of God, The 13 

Working Out Our Own Salvation . . . 311 
Works Lawful on the Sabbath .... 296 
Wrath to Come 132 

Yokes 318 



414 



NEW BOOKS. 



A Daily Message for Christian Endeav- 
orers. 

By Mrs. Francis E. Clark. With introduction by 
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This is a book for the Quiet Hour, the Prayer Meeting, and the Birth- 
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A new feature in books of this kind is the place for birthday entries, 
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The secret of Health, Beauty, Happiness, Friend-making, Common 
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This stirring and attractive story by Professor Wells will make a most 
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PUBLISHING DEPARTMENT. 

United Society of Christian Endeavor. 

646 Washington Street, 155 La Salle Street, 
Boston, Mass. Chicago, III 



NEW BOOKS. 



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